Friday, May 11, 2018
National I.D. system crucial for fintech growth
ADVANCING financial technology (fintech) in the Philippines will be much easier with the passage of a national identification (ID)system into law, a chief executive of an industry player said, as this could help digital money issuers to properly identify users and make the process for on boarding new customers easier.
Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt) CEO Anthony Thomas said one of the impediments the industry faces is the proliferation of fake identities. Adopting a national ID would effectively remove this barrier and take away a risk money
issuers abhor.
“What could help us further is the national identification, which can be a game changer because today, I really don’t know the real identity of my customer. I go by documents, but it’s onerous because I don’t go by a unique number, and it’s very easy to create fake IDs,” he said during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum on Thursday.
He explained that having a national identity available for money issuers, such as Mynt—the operator of digital wallet GCash—would help mitigate the risks, as the system would properly and officially identify customers.
To sign up for a mobile wallet account at present, customers need only to submit a digital copy of an official government ID, such as a picture of passport, a social security card or a driver’s license, among others.
This is part of the know-your-customer (KYC) process that fintech players observe, which Thomas believes could prove more efficient with the adoption of a national
identification law.
“The moment I have a unique ID system — that opens up a lot,” he said.
Creating a national ID card for Filipinos has been on the government’s drawing board for almost a decade now. Today, the plan has passed muster at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
It was also seen approved sometime this month at the bicameral conference.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has been budgeted with P2 billion to roll out the national ID system with the use of biometrics.
Having a national ID will allow at least 105 million Filipinos to benefit from having a valid proof of identity. Such is designed for universal coverage, data integrity and security and optimum utility.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has openly supported the passage of the national identification bill as this could help further drive the digital economy.
“The current governor is a strong advocate of inclusion and digital payments. So the policy framework, I think, we have in the Philippines, is in the right direction,” Thomas said.
According to the Mynt executive, there is a “very large” opportunity in the financial technology space, given that seven out of 10 Filipinos are still unbanked and uncarded.
Financial technology, he said, bridges the gap that separates those who have access to the formal financial instruments—such as credit, savings, and insurance—and to those who do not have.
“It is relatively small in terms of impact in Philippines, but is a growing ecosystem. If you think about services today, e-payments only comprise 1 percent of the total payments happening now—and that’s very small,” Thomas said.
“So there is a very large opportunity in that aspect.”
He added that digital payments could proliferate in the coming years, as mobile in the Philippines is very ubiquitous, given that there are 120 million active SIM cards in the country today.
“We are very small today, but the beauty of a digital platform is it scales very quickly,” Thomas said.
Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt) CEO Anthony Thomas said one of the impediments the industry faces is the proliferation of fake identities. Adopting a national ID would effectively remove this barrier and take away a risk money
issuers abhor.
“What could help us further is the national identification, which can be a game changer because today, I really don’t know the real identity of my customer. I go by documents, but it’s onerous because I don’t go by a unique number, and it’s very easy to create fake IDs,” he said during the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum on Thursday.
He explained that having a national identity available for money issuers, such as Mynt—the operator of digital wallet GCash—would help mitigate the risks, as the system would properly and officially identify customers.
To sign up for a mobile wallet account at present, customers need only to submit a digital copy of an official government ID, such as a picture of passport, a social security card or a driver’s license, among others.
This is part of the know-your-customer (KYC) process that fintech players observe, which Thomas believes could prove more efficient with the adoption of a national
identification law.
“The moment I have a unique ID system — that opens up a lot,” he said.
Creating a national ID card for Filipinos has been on the government’s drawing board for almost a decade now. Today, the plan has passed muster at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
It was also seen approved sometime this month at the bicameral conference.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has been budgeted with P2 billion to roll out the national ID system with the use of biometrics.
Having a national ID will allow at least 105 million Filipinos to benefit from having a valid proof of identity. Such is designed for universal coverage, data integrity and security and optimum utility.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has openly supported the passage of the national identification bill as this could help further drive the digital economy.
“The current governor is a strong advocate of inclusion and digital payments. So the policy framework, I think, we have in the Philippines, is in the right direction,” Thomas said.
According to the Mynt executive, there is a “very large” opportunity in the financial technology space, given that seven out of 10 Filipinos are still unbanked and uncarded.
Financial technology, he said, bridges the gap that separates those who have access to the formal financial instruments—such as credit, savings, and insurance—and to those who do not have.
“It is relatively small in terms of impact in Philippines, but is a growing ecosystem. If you think about services today, e-payments only comprise 1 percent of the total payments happening now—and that’s very small,” Thomas said.
“So there is a very large opportunity in that aspect.”
He added that digital payments could proliferate in the coming years, as mobile in the Philippines is very ubiquitous, given that there are 120 million active SIM cards in the country today.
“We are very small today, but the beauty of a digital platform is it scales very quickly,” Thomas said.
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