bsp

Lawmakers have backed calls for a House inquiry into the ATM fee increases in the horizon, following the move of bank regulators to lift a six-year freeze.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it has launched a number of initiatives aimed at establishing adequate safeguards to manage the potential risks brought by financial technologies (fintech) while providing enough room for companies to develop and implement their innovations.

The BSP has given BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) not later than March 31, 2019 to ensure that all its frontline personnel have the necessary know-how to implement fund transfer services PesoNet and InstaPay.

Cashalo, a mobile lending platform backed by local conglomerate JG Summit and Hong Kong-based tech firm Oriente, has P10 billion as initial lending fund for underbanked consumers and MSMEs in the Philippines.

Online shopping site Lazada Philippines has expressed optimism on its use of PesoNet, an interbank electronic funds transfer service.

Done via the GCash App, customers can transfer funds for free from their GCash wallet to participating banks -- BPI, BDO, MetroBank, and others -- as long as they have the account name, the account number of the receiver, and Internet connectivity.

A circular that will require banks to report as soon as possible any cyber attack and other information technology-related incidents in their systems is expected to be released in September.

Lito Villanueva, managing director of FinTQ, said the national ID will help resolve various customer onboarding issues with financial institutions.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is currently working with stakeholders to develop a national QR code in line with its program to establish an effective electronic retail payment system.

Cashless transactions or electronic payment ratio in the Philippines have reportedly improved to as much as 10 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to just 3 percent three years ago.