Latest news with #BSIs
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
GCash to suspend access to gaming via GLife on Saturday, August 16, 2025
In an advisory, GCash said users may withdraw their funds from their gaming account back to their GCash wallet through GLife only until Saturday, August 16, at 8 p.m. Mobile wallet GCash has announced that it would suspend access to gaming via GLife on Saturday, August 16, at 8 p.m. In an advisory, GCash said users may withdraw their funds from their gaming account back to their GCash wallet through GLife only until Saturday, August 16, at 8 p.m. "After this, users who have remaining funds can only access this directly through the gaming merchant website," GCash said. "We share the commitment of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in maintaining a safe, secure, and responsible digital environment for all," it said. GCash said it would fully comply with the BSP's Memorandum No. M-2025-029, mandating the suspension of in-app gaming access in mobile payment apps and websites in BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs). The e-wallet said it supported the adoption of stronger safeguards on online gaming and will continue to work with regulators and industry partners to protect the financial health of Filipinos. The BSP on Thursday said it has ordered e-wallets to take down icons and links of online gambling platforms within 48 hours. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan made the announcement during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, saying that the directive was given within the day. By Sunday, he said, e-wallets should be disconnected from online gaming platforms. 'The Monetary Board of the [BSP] has approved our policy that we asked... we ordered, directed the BSP supervising institutions to take down and remove all icons and links redirecting to gambling sites,' Tangonan said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
03-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
BSP may require financial institutions to limit user access to online gaming
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is looking at requiring Philippine financial institutions to limit the gaming access of their users, in a bid to protect clients of digital platforms from risks associated with online gambling. According to the central bank, it has already circulated a draft circular for such measures, and is now reviewing feedback from stakeholders. 'The circular would seek to require BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs), primarily banks and electronic money issuers, to better protect users of their digital platforms from these risks. Protection may come in the form of various limits to gaming access,' the BSP said. 'The BSP is taking a collaborative approach to crafting the circular, to ensure that the final policy strikes a balance between protecting consumers and preserving access to digital payments for licensed businesses,' it added. To recall, the BSP in 2021 issued a directive that prohibited regulated entities from dealing with unlicensed gambling operators. It also ordered e-wallets and other BSIs to remove links to electronic sabong or e-sabong from their platforms in 2022. 'The BSP remains committed to promoting a safe, secure, and inclusive digital finance ecosystem for all Filipinos,' the BSP said. Earlier this week, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian proposed a measure imposing strict regulations for online gambling, including banning the use of an e-wallet for online gambling, increasing the minimum age from 18 to 21, and having a minimum bet of P10,000 and a top up of P5,000. Malacañang last month said the government has shut down 7,000 unauthorized gaming websites, citing concerns related to online gaming addiction. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
11-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Financial institutions given until June 2026 to boost fraud management systems
Financial institutions under the supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have been given until June 2026 to boost their fraud management systems (FMS), and limit their use of interceptable authentication mechanisms such as one-time pins (OTPs) sent via SMS and email. Under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) with complex electronic products and services (EPS) or those with an average of at least P75 million monthly network value for the last six months are required to strengthen their FMS. The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of AFASA, set to take effect on June 25, 2025, require such BSIs to have their FMS cater to behavioral anomalies, blacklist screening, geolocation monitoring, mobile device and account information changes, in a bid to prevent unauthorized transactions. 'We already have a fraud management system, but we enhanced it, and we all know that it takes time to buy all the new software, so we gave the banks one year,' BSP deputy governor Elmore told reporters in a press chat in Manila City. This is on top of the FMS required of all BSIs with an Advanced Electronic Payment and Financial Services (EPFS) license to have their FMS that is real-time, commensurate to risks, has fraud detection and blocking, comprehensive, and constantly calibrated. 'We are going into additional FMS. The present will not really suffice. Everything is moving very fast so we have this additional. Sometimes a good system is only good until the scammers find a way to go around it,' Capule said. President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. signed the AFASA, or Republic Act 1201,0 on July 20, 2024, after being designated as a priority bill by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). The IRR of the law also provides for BSP-supervised financial institutions to limit the use of OTPs sent to users via SMS and email, and adopt more multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods. 'With the increasing prevalence of social and engineering attacks aimed at obtaining login credentials, BSFIs should limit the use of authentication mechanisms that can be shared with, or intercepted by, third parties unrelated to the transaction,' according to BSP Circular 1213. Among the other recommended MFA methods are biometric authentication, which allows customers to use their fingerprint scanning, facial recognition, and voice recognition to authorize transactions, and behavioral biometrics that track patterns such as typing speed, mouse, or device movements. The BSP also allows for passwordless authentication that uses factors like biometrics, hardware tokens, and cryptographic keys, such as Fast Identity Online (FIDO) which allows biological features or a security key to log in to online accounts. The circular also provides for adaptive authentication, which adjusts the authentication process based on the user's context to cover factors such as location, device, and behavior. This will prompt additional verification steps or other actions upon detection of unusual activity. 'We have to realize all of these things are very, very expensive, that's the reality, so we are giving them sufficient time. But at the same time, we realize that if they will not adapt to this, we cannot really solve these scamming, these frauds, so it's a calibrated speech,' Capule said. According to the BSP, it received around 70,000 complaints in 2024, of which 13% were unauthorized transactions including phishing and vishing. There were 703 cases that entered into mediation during the year, with an 83% success rate. For this year, the central bank said cases that have entered mediation from January to May have already hit 400. –NB, GMA Integrated News
