The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) supports the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in its recent advisory emphasizing the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card as the official proof of identity for transactions with government and private entities.
The BSP also congratulates the PSA for the positive launch turnout of the third and final step of Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) mass registration, wherein PhilID cards and PhilSys Numbers were distributed to successful registrants.
In a recent report by state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), a total of 2,481,788 unbanked PhilSys registration have already signed up for Landbank transaction accounts as of 30 April 2021.
“The PhilSys will be a strategic enabler for a more inclusive new economy, bringing us closer to our shared vision of prosperity for all,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.
He added that the BSP is fully committed to support the government and the PSA in bringing the vision of PhilSys to reality.
The BSP reminds banks of the provisions in the Republic Act 1105, also known as the Philippine Identification System Act that the PhilID card, by itself, is a sufficient proof of identification honored and accepted in bank transactions without the need to present any other documentary requirements.
The results of the BSP’s 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey cited documentary requirements as one of the top challenges in opening a bank account. With the PhilID card, unbanked Filipinos will be empowered to open bank accounts, including basic deposit accounts (BDA).
The BDA was introduced by the BSP in 2018 as a response to the need of the low-income sector for a low-cost, easy-to-open account. With an initial deposit of PhP100.00, without minimum maintaining balance and dormancy charges, and involving minimal identification requirement, BDA account ownership has increased and allowed more Filipinos to become financially included.
Based on Q4 2020 data, there are 133 banks in the country offering BDAs. The total number of BDA depositors has reached 6.595 million with an aggregate deposit amount of PhP4.7 billion.