Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed
to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Building
Financial Resiliency,
Empowering
Financial Inclusion

At Higala, we are committed to making digital financial infrastructures resilient, modern, and inclusive for financial institutions, businesses, and individuals everywhere..

Know More

Who We Are

Higala is an instant payment infrastructure service provider empowering financial institutions to move money seamlessly and to connect new market players––all in an effort to advance a resilient and inclusive financial system.

What Higala Provides:
An efficient alternative for banks, electronic money issuers, and other financial institutions.

Higala’s Mission:
‍Crowd-funded and launched by Talino Venture Studios and Chemonics International, Higala aims to harness the power of technology to expand the reach of instant payments in the Philippines and provide Filipinos a resilient and inclusive platform for financial services.

The Higala Ecosystem

Our ecosystem is powered by two innovative platforms –– Instant Payment System and Platform Bank Enabler –– that complement each other to improve the resiliency of the financial system, broaden the participation of financial institutions, and connect new market players to the system.

No one is left behind

Financial Institutions
We enable financial institutions, regardless of size, to seamlessly connect to the payment system and offer digital financial services to their customers.
Learn more
Consumers
We empower consumers by making digital financial services more accessible through their preferred financial service provider.
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New Market Players
We enable new market players to collaborate with financial institutions so that these new players can introduce innovative digital financial services to consumers and businesses.
Learn more

Our Innovative Two-Level Platform

Working in sync to make instant payments both interoperable and resilient.

Instant Payment System

Brings down transaction costs and modernizes payment platforms through open payments. 
Enables people everywhere to participate in the digital economy seamlessly, strengthening the country’s financial ecosystem.

Platform Bank Enabler

Provides thrift banks, rural banks, and micro-finance institutions with the tools to offer digital financial services –– thus accelerating participation and the expansion of reach of instant payment systems.

We are a proud member of
the Mojaloop Community.

The Mojaloop Foundation aims to increase global financial inclusion by empowering organizations to create interoperable payment systems.

Our Team

Picture of Winston Damarillo

Winston Damarillo

Managing Partner,
Talino Venture Studios
Picture of Vice Catudio

Vice Catudio

Chief Executive Officer,
Higala
Picture of Jamey Butcher

Jamey Butcher

President and CEO,
Chemonics International
Picture of Dexter Genterone

Dexter Genterone

Chief Architect,
Talino Venture Studios
Exited three startups in Silicon Valley, Intel Capital, PLDT
Picture of Mark Colentava

Mark Colentava

Vice President of Product,
Talino Venture Studios
Exited three startups in Silicon Valley, Intel Capital, PLDT
Picture of Francis Plaza

Francis Plaza

Chief Technology Officer,
Higala
Exited three startups in Silicon Valley, Intel Capital, PLDT
and a team of 15+ software engineering, product, and finance experts.
Know More About The Team

What People Say

“For an affordable fee, Higala will provide all services to rural banks to help them join the InstaPay system. Its Mojaloop-backed payment switch is also 75% cheaper to operate than the current switch, thus making these digital financial services much more affordable to low-income communities in the Philippines.”

Miller Abel

Principal Technologies, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“With the pioneering deployment of Mojaloop open source software in Asia through our collaboration with Talino's Higala, the Mojaloop Foundation reaffirms its commitment to breaking down barriers and empowering communities through financial inclusion.”

Paula Hunter

Executive Director, Mojaloop Foundation

“Drawing from three decades of impactful partnerships and success in the financial inclusion space in the Philippines, Higala embodies our vision for affordable, real-time transactions accessible to all Filipino communities.”

Jamey Butcher

CEO and President, Chemonics International

“At Talino, we are committed to the sustainable execution of development that benefits all stakeholders, especially the unbanked. With Talino and Chemonics providing funding for Higala, we bring together the impact of venture investing and global good to expand the benefits of financial inclusion to segments that need them most.”

Winston Damarillo

CEO, Talino Venture Studios

“The BSP supports continued efforts to enhance the efficiency of the national payment system and help modernize the Philippines’ digital payments infrastructure as part of our ongoing efforts to bring more users into the digital payments system.”

Mamerto E. Tangonan

Deputy Governor, BSP

“Higala and RCBC share a vision of a country where finance is accessible to all, enabling dreams and aspirations. By forging this partnership, RCBC is proud to advance our financial inclusion efforts, creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs and consumers to experience fun, hassle-free, and empowering banking.”

Lito Villanueva

Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer, RCBC

The Latest From Higala

March 18, 2025

Higala extends seed funding to $2.8 million

Since its introduction last year, Higala has been expanding financial access to different parts of the country by connecting more rural banks and other financial institutions to its network
Read More
November 12, 2024

Higala and Camalig Bank Partner to Revolutionize Rural Banking

Partnership Seeks to Deliver Inclusive, Accessible, and Efficient Payment Services to Underserved Filipino Communities
Read More
November 8, 2024

Higala, RCBC team up to connect rural banks, MFIs to InstaPay

The partnership aims to drive financial inclusion by enabling rural banks and MFIs to offer digital banking services
Read More