The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reiterated its earlier instruction to all banks and non-banks to accept the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) ID as sufficient proof of identity to open a bank account or a transactional account.
The national ID “will help more Filipinos, especially the marginalized and low-income, to begin saving money in banks and other BSFIs (BSP-supervised financial institutions),” said BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.
The BSP issued Memorandum No. M-2021-057 last Oct. 21 following an advisory by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that all government and private entities should accept the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card as proof of identity, subject to proper authentication.
The BSP said BSFIs are to accept the PhilID in both physical and mobile formats, without the need for another ID. The ID will be authenticated via online and offline methods using physical security features, QR code digital verification, biometric verification, and SMS one-time password (OTP).
The BSP has directed banks and non-banks to include the PhilID in their list of valid IDs to be displayed on their counters, public entrances of their establishments, websites, social media accounts, and other consumer information channels.
As of Oct. 21, about 5,922,304 transaction accounts have been opened due to the co-location of PSA registration sites and Land Bank of the Philippines.
In the meantime, the central bank is updating and enhancing its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) procedures to improve BSFIs’ customer identification, and has included the national ID as an independent source of proving one’s identity in the customer due diligence.
The BSP said PhilSys records are considered as official and sufficient proof of identity and a reliable and independent source of verification. The PhilID has already undergone identity proofing, enrollment, authentication and “identity life cycle management processess”. It contains the PhilSys number, date and place of birth of the BSFI customer, nationality, address, and biometrics, among others.
By BSP definition, e-KYC refers to the use of electronic or digital methods in the customer identification and verification process.
Customer identification is a key element of KYC standards.