AS FILIPINOS increasingly rely on apps to move, save, borrow, and manage money, cybersecurity is becoming a more visible part of the financial experience — from the controls customers can use themselves to the systems and policies that keep services running when threats emerge. At the recent BusinessWorld Cybersecurity Summit, Maya executives said this shift is changing how financial institutions approach security, what customers should expect and how regulators need to respond. Maya has put more security controls directly in customers’ hands. Through its in-app features, users can immediately freeze or unfreeze their cards and manage how they are used. Biometric authentication, fraud monitoring, and other safeguards work in the background. Maya credit cards also use dynamic CVVs, adding another layer of protection for online transactions. Maya also works with regulators and law enforcement agencies, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Philippine National Police (PNP). For Kristoffer Rada, Maya’s head of corporate affairs, these measures reflect a broader shift in the relationship between cybersecurity and consumer trust. “For us in Maya, cybersecurity is not some back-office product, it’s really part of the product,” Rada said. “As more people depend on digital financial services every day, maintaining trust becomes a responsibility shared by financial institutions, regulators, government and the broader ecosystem. Rada said cybersecurity policy must balance strong safeguards and institutional accountability with the need to respond to rapidly changing technologies and risks. The focus, he said, should go beyond compliance with individual rules. It should also protect customers, keep services running, strengthen accountability and ensure institutions can respond to and recover from cyber incidents. “Technology evolves so fast. The rules that apply this year may no longer be