THE PhilIDs and ePhilIDs issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) through the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) continue to prove its functionality in financial transactions as data from a mobile wallet service showed that the national ID is the most presented valid ID for account verification.
According to GCash, PhilIDs and ePhilIDs make up 41% of valid IDs submitted by their users for account verification.
Account verification for the said mobile wallet assures legitimacy of the user through submission of valid proof of identity for more secure transactions, and allows higher wallet and transaction limits. More than just cash in, buy load, or pay bills, fully verified users can also send money, do bank transfers, and avail secure loan and insurance services.
“We, at the PSA, take this as a success indicator of the collective efforts of the agency in promoting the use and acceptance of PhilIDs and ePhilIDs in public and private establishments, including financial institutions,” said PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, PhD, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General. “We thank our partners from GCash for their unwavering support in the implementation of PhilSys and for their contribution in the promotion of financial inclusion among Filipinos.”
Promoting financial inclusion
PhilSys, through its provision of PhilIDs and ePhilIDs, have been instrumental in addressing a major challenge for Filipinos in accessing financial services, including mobile wallets—the lack of a valid ID. Through extensive registration and ID issuance efforts, as well as partnerships with key institutions, the PhilSys enabled access to formal banking services for many Filipinos.
A report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cited PhilSys and its colocation efforts with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) as a major contributor to the reported 170 percent increase in the number of Filipinos who opened Basic Deposit Accounts (BDAs).
The colocation strategy, which allowed PhilSys-registered persons to open transactional accounts with LANDBANK for free after registration, resulted in 7.5 million additional BDAs in the latter part of 2022.
“Patuloy ang aming paghikayat sa mga Pilipino na gamitin ang kanilang PhilID o ePhilID sa kanilang mga transaksyon,” Usec. Mapa said. “Makakaasa ang publiko na walang-tigil ang PSA sa pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga pampubliko at pribadong institusyon para sa pagkilala at pagtanggap sa PhilID at ePhilID bilang valid proof of identity and age.”
Meanwhile, the PSA, along with its partners, BSP and Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost), continues to expedite PhilID printing and delivery.
As of 08 December 2023, 44,803,320 PhilIDs have already been delivered and 42,830,384 ePhilIDs have been issued.
