MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) supports a Senate measure that aims to protect financial customers from cybercrime as digital transactions in the country continue to rise due to the health pandemic.
On Saturday, the central bank said the proposed Bank Account, E-Wallet, and Other Financial Accounts Regulation or Senate Bill No. 2380 would help authorities counter cybercriminals and syndicates from attacking bank accounts and e-wallets.
The measure covers phishing, fraudulent bank transactions, misrepresentation, among other things. “The legislative measure will strengthen the country’s legal framework for financial consumer welfare and foster greater public awareness on cybersecurity,” the BSP explained.
Aside from this, the BSP pointed out that its immediate passage would boost the public’s confidence in digital transactions “and promote the country’s financial stability.”
Sen. Grace Poe, who filed the bill, said safeguards should be put in place to protect digital platforms operating in the country.
One of its goals is to require banks and financial institutions to respond to cybercrime cases “with more urgency” and improve online platforms, payment schemes, and data security.
Citing BSP data, she added that the majority or at least 98 percent of the crime reports filed by banks from March 15 to May 18 last year were “online in nature,” worth P60.6 million.
Under the BSP’s digital payments transformation road map, the central bank aims to have at least 70 percent of Filipino adults with a financial account.(ABS-CBN News)
