Senator Grace Poe said on Tuesday that an improved internet service in the Philippines will also help increase financial inclusion among Filipinos.
(FACEBOOK / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“A steady internet along with digital innovations can offer ways to bring Filipinos out of financial darkness. It is crucial to connect the people with the broader economy to help improve lives and livelihood,” Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said.
Poe issued the statement as she cited a 2019 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey which showed that 71 percent or over 51 million Filipino adults are unbanked or do not have any bank account.
According to the BSP, the lack of money remained the primary reason, accounting for almost half of the unbanked. Other reasons were the perceived lack of need for a bank account and the lack of documentary requirements.
The BSP survey also found that 69 percent of the Filipino adults have a mobile phone, while 53 percent use the internet. The central bank said only 12 percent of mobile phone owners and nine percent of internet users use their mobile phones and the internet for financial transactions.
Poe, meanwhile, noted that during the pandemic, there was an increase in digital payment transactions where fund transfer service providers’ combined online transactions resulted in a 70-percent increase in volume and 42 percent in value in comparison to the first quarter of the year.
Despite this, internet access remains a challenge, she said.
She called for the passage of the Senate Bill No. 1831 or the proposed “Better Internet Act”, which seeks to provide fast, reliable, secure, and affordable internet.
The measure would mandate internet service providers to expand their coverage and comply with the minimum internet connection speeds set in the bill.
“With better internet access and service, mobile phone users can use e-money apps to allow them to access financial services,” Poe said.
“The pandemic has made us painfully aware of our internet system’s weaknesses. Our role as policy makers is not to stand in the way of innovation, but to enhance it, enable it, and support ways to improve upon it,” she added.
The Senate Committee on Public Services, which Poe also chairs, has endorsed the bill for plenary approval.
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