March 29, 2024

An official of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said at least 56 percent of bank account owners in 2021 have applied for an online transaction service, a significant increase from 27 percent in 2019.

“That means more and more people are sharing the experience of online banking transactions where they can store money, move money, and apply for a loan using their cellular telephone or gadgets,” BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said during the third Macroeconomic Conference Series (RMCS) held virtually.

He said the BSP aims to entice the public and improve their banking experience by making sure services are always available and by enabling and adopting policy reforms in online banking.

The official said they have approved the licenses of six digital banks.

He said banks will have to cope with the demands of online business and financial transactions if they want to keep up with new trends in banking.

He said on a global scale, mobile banking volume has overtaken global card payment.

“The future of banking is digital with more people using it to move money without the need to enter the physical bank,” the official said.

Ma. Cynthia Sison, OIC of the BSP’s Supervisory Banking and Research department, in the same forum said banks have become more aware of the need to go digital as it affects their long-term competitiveness to provide for the needs of the clients.

“They need to have a quantum jump in digital technology,” Sison said.

As part of the cyber posture compliance of the banks, the BSP has come up with a policy for banks to make sure clients are made aware of online banking when applying for the service.

“They are required to have an onboarding process, an awareness campaign where they inform their client who opts to have the online banking service,” Sison added.

The official said banks are nearing the 70 percent target for adult Filipinos having banking transaction accounts where they only maintain one account and pay, deposit, and send to another account or an online payment portal.

Sison said Philippine banks remain on solid footing as it posts a 7.8 percent growth in terms of assets or equivalent to P21.35 billion by end of June.

She added banks posted a net profit of 16.7 percent in the same reporting period, which is equivalent to P143.1 billion.

As of March, there are 75 bank head offices in Northern Luzon – regions 1, 2, 3, and the Cordillera – with 1,284 branches having a total deposit portfolio of P654B and P159.6B in the loan portfolio as of December 2021. “Banks continue to enjoy the trust of the banking public,” she said. – PNA