To ensure the efficient and prompt delivery of future government financial assistance programs, Senator Win Gatchalian broached the idea of having each Filipino owning one bank account.
“Ngayon meron na tayong national ID. May isang batas akong gustong i-file na may kaugnayan sa national ID, ang tawag ko dito ay ‘One Filipino, One Bank Account’,” Gatchalian said.
“Dapat mandatory na bigyan ng pamahalaan ang lahat ng mga naninirahan dito ng bank account. Importante na gumamit na tayo ng teknolohiya,” the veteran legislator said.
“Kapag ganitong may pandemya, remit na lang nang remit sa bank account at doon tatanggap ng ayuda, bahala ka na kung paano mo gagamitin ang ayuda na ‘yun,” the seasoned lawmaker added.
“Even the people dispensing the cash might get infected with COVID-19. Who will then dispense the money?” the senator asked.
“Owning a bank account should be considered a basic requirement among Filipinos.”
The Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies said owning a bank account should be considered a basic requirement among Filipinos, regardless of the individual’s socio-economic class.
And with over 74 million Filipinos already using smartphones as of 2019, he said contactless and cashless payments can be made possible through the use of their mobile phone units as digital wallets.
Through the use of software applications installed in smartphones, payments can be made through scanning or card readers.
“51.2 million Filipino adults remain unbanked.”
A financial inclusion survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2019 showed that 51.2 million Filipino adults remain unbanked or 71% of the total adult population.
The lack of enough money is the topmost reason for not having a bank account, followed by the perceived lack of need for an account (27%), and lack of documentary requirements (26%).
The same BSP survey showed that access to technology has increased awareness of online payments with 38% of adults reported owning a smartphone while 42% use the internet at least once a month. Of the said 42%, 86% of them connect to the internet via their mobile data.
The BSP said such access to technology has given way to awareness of online payment methods.
Latest records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), meanwhile, showed that 82% of the 10.5 million initial registrants to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), or the national ID system, indicated that they do not have bank accounts.
The PSA has set its target registrations to 70 million this year.