SEC eyes lifting moratorium on new online lending platforms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday said it is now looking into lifting its moratorium on the registration of new online lending platforms (OLPs) of financing and lending companies (FLCs).

In a statement, the SEC said the planned lifting of the moratorium on new OLPs and FLCs forms part of efforts to improve the public’s access to credit “under stronger consumer protection measures to ensure responsible practices in the lending industry.”

The corporate regulator said it issued, on March 12, 2026, for public comment a draft memorandum circular providing for the “guidelines lifting the moratorium on OLPs and prescribing prudential, disclosure, and market conduct requirements for financing and lending companies.”

The commission said the public may submit comments and recommendations on the proposed guidelines on or before March 25. 

The moratorium on new OLPs and FLCs has been in place since November 5, 2021 under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10, series of 2021. 

The commission said the proposed lifting of the moratorium recognizes the need to promote responsible innovation, stimulate economic activity among FCs and LCs, and ensure that the operation of OLPs is aligned with consumer protection, market integrity, prudential objectives, financial inclusion, ease of market access, and the global trend toward digitalization. 

The SEC said the roposed guidelines provide for stronger safeguards against abusive and unfair debt collection practices, in line with provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 3765, or the Truth in Lending Act; RA No. 11765, or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act, and RA No. 10173, or the Data Privacy Act. 

Capital requirements 

With this, the corporate regulator is proposing new paid-up capital requirements for FLCs based on the number of OLPs they operate. 

Financing companies that do not operate any OLP shall maintain a minimum paid-up capital of P20 million, while lending companies will be subject to a minimum paid-up capital of P10 million. 

For financing companies with one OLP, the minimum paid-up capital will be P30 million; P60 million for two to five OLPs; and P100 million for a maximum of 10 OLPs. 

Meanwhile, lending companies must maintain P20 million minimum paid-up capital for one OLP; P30 million for two to five OLPs; and P50 million for up to 10 OLPs. 

The SEC said the proposed rules seek to limit the number of OLPs that FLCs operate to no more than 10, “to ensure manageable oversight and mitigate systemic risk.”

Meanwhile, existing FLCs will be given a three-year period to meet the new capital requirements in line with a “Capital Compliance Plan” that will be submitted to the commission. 

Single license policy

The SEC’s proposed guidelines also mandates a “Single Certificate of Authority (CA)” policy, wherein each FLC will only be issued one CA covering its principal office and all branch offices. 

Separate CAs per branch office will no longer be issued, the corporate regulator said.

Moreover, the SEC said all existing and proposed branch offices must be declared in the Business Plan or Amended Business Plan submitted to the Commission. 

“In view of the adoption of the Single CA Policy and the removal of branch-level annual fees, the SEC is moving toward an asset-based Annual Licensing Fee (ALF), ranging from 0.10% to 0.35% of a company’s total assets,” it said.

The draft rules likewise reinforces the SEC’s commitment to strengthen consumer protection standards in the lending industry. 

“Among others, the proposal strictly prohibits FLCs from accessing or scraping borrower contact lists, social media contacts, or messaging records from mobile devices,” it said.

“The use of such personal data for debt collection, borrower harassment, reputational pressure, or disclosure of a borrower’s indebtedness to third parties is strictly prohibited,” it added.

The SEC said OLPs are also barred from using automated, system-generated, or pre-programmed messages for debt collection purposes, except for neutral payment reminders that do not contain threats, coercive language, or demands. 

The commission noted that “such messages must also comply with the standards of fair and responsible collection practices under applicable laws.”

“FLCs are likewise prohibited from outsourcing, delegating, assigning, or transferring its core lending or financing functions to third party service providers,” the SEC said.

The corporate regulator said all FLCs operating OLPs will be required to register with the Credit Information Corporation and regularly submit complete and accurate credit data information, in accordance with Republic Act No. 9150, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act.

“FLCs must use CIC credit reports and available credit data as part of their credit risk assessment process before approving a borrower’s loan,” it added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News