THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said there are currently nine applications in the pipeline vying for the last digital banking license to be given out by the regulator.
In his keynote speech at an online seminar organized by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the Philippine banking and payments system is growing more and more digital due largely to the restrictions ordered put in place by the Duterte administration.
Diokno revealed last Monday’s webinar that since the announcement of the closure of the application window for new digital banks in end-August, the BSP received nine applications from new players and existing banks.
Last month, the BSP announced that it will no longer accept applications for digital banks in the country to closely monitor the digital banks’ performance and contribution to the country’s financial inclusion goals, impact on the banking system and level of competition.
Diokno also announced monetary authorities are limiting the digital banking license they will be giving out to seven entities for the next three years.
To date, the Monetary Board has already approved the applications of six banks: the Overseas Filipino Bank; Tonik Digital Bank Inc., UNObank Inc.; Union Digital Bank; GoTyme Bank; and, the latest being Maya Bank Inc.
“Currently, with the recent approval of Maya Bank, only one digibank license remains to be contested by nine aspirants,” Diokno said.
According to the Better Than Cash Alliance study, 17 percent of the total volume of payments in the country were made digitally in the first half of 2020 compared with 10 percent in 2018.
While more and more people are embracing digital banking, the governor also warned of “unique challenges” in the emerging sector that warrant prudence.
“Data privacy concerns, money laundering, and electronic frauds are among the issues that can undermine the confidence in this policy initiative,” Diokno said.
“We therefore expect that the key stakeholders, particularly the financial institutions, to adopt adequate measures and controls to manage such risks,” he added.