THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday activated for the first time the automated clearinghouse (ACH) that makes possible a seamless electronic fund transfer (EFT) and payments of accounts in near real time.
The Philippine EFT System and Operations Network (Peso Net) seeks to modernize the country’s retail-payment system, increase the adoption and greater use of so-called electronic payments and help shift transactions from cash-heavy to e-payments down the line.
The EFT takes off from the National Retail Payments System initiative launched in December 2015 and articulated the goal of moving 20 percent of all transactions from cash and checks and into the digital sphere by 2020.
A study published by Better Than Cash Alliance in 2014 said only 1 percent of all transactions in the country were digital transactions.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said the PESO Net clearinghouse aims to make more convenient the day-to-day transactions in the Philippines.
With the ACH, funds can be made available to recipient accounts within the same banking day or immediately upon clearing. Payees receive the funds transferred in full and shall not pay for electronic crediting to their accounts.
Its benefits range from lower cost of doing business and as alternative to the check system, as transactions are processed the same day compared to next-day check clearing only recently.
In turn, Espenilla said businesses and enterprises will have beter grasp of liquidity management through the digital pathway and is expected to result in the increase of economic activities in the country.