BSP says national ID system to benefit ‘unbanked’ Filipinos

To promote an inclusive financial environment, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) started working with the national government for the adoption of a digital national identification system, its chief said.

"BSP has been working closely with the national government for the rapid adoption of a government biometrics-based ID system," BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said in a recent event in Manila.

Espenilla noted that a universal ID system would bring millions of unbanked and disenfranchised Filipinos to participate in the finance ecosystem, especially since the lack of a valid ID remains one of the hurdles keeping them from accessing financial services.

The BSP's Consumer Finance Survey, released in January, showed that 86 percent of Filipino households are unbanked or do not have deposit bank accounts.

The Duterte administration is looking to the distribution of a national ID to 105 million Filipinos by 2020.

The national ID system aims to properly identify recipients of government subsidies. The ID is planned to contain an individual's biometrics.

The government is also planning to put an EMV-chip or magnetic stripe to the ID to enable the distribution of subsidies to targeted recipients.

For the BSP, Espenilla said that the national ID system will facilitate transparent, equitable, and efficient government services to Filipinos.

The government's national ID system will initially target marginalized sectors  such as senior citizens, persons with disability, and the poorest families. — MDM, GMA News