The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received the GCash Digital Excellence Award 2024 for fostering the growth of innovative financial products and services while ensuring the protection of financial consumers.
In conferring the award to the SEC, mobile payment services GCash cited the commission’s efforts in fostering innovation in the financial market through the introduction of the SEC StratBox (Strategic Box).
The SEC StratBox is a regulatory sandbox that allows firms to test innovative products or services in a live but controlled setting, and to eventually offer them to the public at large.
At the same time, the regulatory sandbox allows the SEC to craft and refine regulations and policies related to emerging technologies, backed by actual data.
The commission on April 25 issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 9, Series of 2024, providing for the framework of the regulatory sandbox in line with its mandate under the Securities Regulation Code, to encourage competitiveness in the market through promulgation of rules for registration and licensing innovative and other trading markets.
Under the framework, the SEC may grant regulatory reliefs to sandbox participants by modifying or replacing specific licensing, registration, compliance, or other regulatory requirements that may otherwise apply, during the sandbox period.
“We are honored to be recognized for our efforts to support innovations that will not only facilitate the growth of the financial market, but also stimulate the development of a vibrant and inclusive digital economy in the Philippines,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.
He added that “we remain steadfast in our commitment in supporting technological advancements that will make the financial market more accessible to all and provide a better future to the lives of Filipinos.”
Now in its fourth year, the GCash Digital Excellence Awards aims to recognize its partner institutions who have contributed to promoting trust, accountability, and innovation in the financial market.
In 2023, GCash conferred to the SEC the Excellence in Digital Transformation Award, citing its digitalization efforts that have made company registration processes faster and more efficient, further advancing the ease of doing business in the Philippines.
The SEC accelerated its digital transformation journey at the height of the pandemic to ensure uninterrupted services to its stakeholders.
It launched new systems that enabled corporations to register their businesses, file and submit documents, and pay their transactions with the SEC online, among other services.