BSP Continues Goal to Have 70% of Adult Filipinos have Bank Accounts

The continuous onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a position to accomplish its goal of having 70 percent of adult Filipinos have bank accounts as less physical transactions are being done for health and safety reasons.

BSP in on pace to hit the 70 percent target mark in 2023.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno also attributes the registrations for the national identification (ID) or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) as reasons for the steady rise of Filipino adults with bank accounts, as the registrations require bank accounts.

Results from a BSP financial inclusion survey found out that only 29 percent of Filipinos have bank accounts as of 2019.

Another reason for the increase in the number of bank account owners is the continuous digitalization efforts of the country, in part due to the pandemic as the COVID-19 pandemic forced Filipinos to digital means of transactions.

electronic money transactions in the country grew by a whopping 94 percent–from 17.9 million to 34.7 million during 2020 alone, according to BSP data. (GFB)