Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said there is a necessity for Filipinos to own their own bank account or become a virtual wallet holder so more people can engage in cashless transactions.

Since digital payments have been the norm since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started last year, Gatchalian noted opening a “virtual wallet” has become a necessity for some individuals.

However, the senator pointed out that not all Filipinos are knowledgeable about digital financial services that are now available to the public.

That is why, he said, he is eyeing a bill called “One Filipino, One Bank Account” that seeks to mandate the opening of a bank account or virtual wallet for every Filipino that would serve as a payment platform of the government in distributing financial aid, including education assistance and medical assistance among others.

“In mandating a personal bank account or virtual wallet, the people will learn the importance of managing once finances and learning how to save money,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

“Ordinary Filipinos should be taught the best way on how to handle money, save up and how they should spend it,” the senator added.

According to Gatchalian, the bill that he intends to file would not require a minimum deposit amount. The measure, he also said, seeks to boost the digitalization of financial transactions in the country.

The lawmaker pointed out the government has been trying to promote financial inclusion because less than 20 percent of the population have a bank account.

“Almost all people are still used to using cash but during these days, especially when there is a pandemic, we are not propelled to use electronic means and that is the future of digital banking and payments,” he said.

“Other countries are also gravitating towards digital transactions,” said the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

Citing a survey done by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the senator noted that those who used their account for payment transactions more than doubled to 39 percent in 2019 from 18 percent in 2017.

The survey pointed out that those transactions reflect receipts of salary and government benefits while those who do not use their account for payments say they prefer cash transactions or are unaware that an account can be used for payments.

The survey also showed that most people commonly prefer over-the-counter (OTC) mode of payment for all types of accounts; Internet or mobile banking significantly lags behind other modes of transactions.

The BSP study also show that bank and e-money accounts are mostly transacted via automated teller machines (ATMs) and only a few conduct banking transactions thru online or mobile platforms.