BSP commends DILG for promoting digital disbursements

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) commends the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for promoting the settlement of DILG and local government unit (LGU) payables through digital disbursements.

The DILG issued an advisory encouraging the adoption of digital payments to enhance efficiency in government transactions and delivery of social services to the public.

Signed by DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año on 26 January 2022, the advisory calls on DILG regional offices and LGUs to promote digital disbursement systems by:

• Encouraging and utilizing digital disbursement in the distribution of local and national cash assistance programs to their beneficiaries’ transaction accounts;
• Helping their constituents with no existing transaction accounts to avail of the opening of Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) accounts in more than 300 Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registration centers free-of-charge. For registrants/unbanked constituents with smartphones, they can maximize the account using the LANDBANKPay mobile wallet;
• Joining PhilSys in promoting digital payments for an efficient and safer transfer of government aid to their constituents; and
• Coordinating with LANDBANK for the digital disbursement of cash assistance or ayuda through the transaction accounts opened by the bank for qualified constituents.

“The adoption of digital disbursement will help build an inclusive financial system, especially amid the pandemic. Financial inclusion enables unbanked Filipinos to access affordable financial products and services, such as opening transaction accounts, obtaining loans, and investing in and purchasing products safely and conveniently,” said BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno. “Financial inclusion therefore empowers Filipinos to improve their welfare and overall quality of life.”

Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023, the BSP aims to convert at least half of the total retail payments into digital form and to onboard at least 70 percent of Filipino adults into the formal financial system through the ownership and use of a transaction account by 2023.