BPI upgrading fraud systems to comply with anti-scam law

BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is working to comply with the enhanced fraud and risk management systems required under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), keeping it on track to meet the mid-2026 deadline.

“There are a lot of points that we need to [address] but by and large, we are already compliant. But… we need to make sure that we are compliant come day one of the implementation next year. That’s something the rest of the industry are all working towards,” BPI Enterprise Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer Jonathan John Paz told reporters at an event last week.

“We are not totally compliant yet, but we are confident that we will be compliant.”

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given banks until June 25, 2026 to adopt new fraud management systems and upgraded security and authentication measures for consumers as part of the AFASA’s implementing rules. Lenders were also given six months to update their risk management frameworks.

Mr. Paz said as part of AFASA’s implementation, the banking industry as a whole also has to come up with common standards and rules, like terms and conditions for account openings, which are still being drafted.

“The thing is, the AFASA can only work when everyone is ready. Everyone has to be on the same page for AFASA to work. So, it’s not a matter of where is BPI in terms of compliance. The more important question is, is the whole industry ready for AFASA? Because we might be ready, but we can’t do anything if the other counterparties are not,” he said.

“The only thing left is really how the other banks will also respond. So, there are processes that can only be finalized once there’s an agreement among everyone… because we can’t word it in one way, and the other banks will word it differently. There will be gaps between banks.”

Fighting financial fraud requires collective effort, Mr. Paz said.

“Because if there is a weak link in the system, then that gets to be exploited. And then, fraud cannot be totally eliminated.

For example, if there’s a bank that is not able to properly screen their accounts… that exposes everyone to fraud risk. So, I understand where the BSP comes from. And definitely, we support these kinds of activities because fraud undermines the legitimacy of online commerce, of e-commerce. Online commerce, e-commerce, brought us along the path of inclusivity, financial products, innovation… It has done wonders for everyone in the Philippines,” he said.

“Fraud undermines the concept of online payments. And we can’t go back to where we were before… So, definitely, if you want this good thing to continue, we need to fight against what’s undermining it, which is fraud.” — AMCS