By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
SPEEDYPAY, Inc. has received a license to operate as an e-money issuer (EMI) in the Philippines.
The firm, which runs the Mango e-Wallet service, was given the accreditation in December, said BSP Deputy Director Melchor T. Plabasan.
Headquartered in Ortigas in Pasig City, SpeedyPay offers digital wallets for retail as well as merchant customers. Consumer wallets may be used for item purchases, bills payments, fund transfers, and transport costs either through online or offline transactions.
Government subsidies like cash transfers can also be coursed through the so-called Mango Cash Card, according to the firm’s website.
On the other hand, merchant wallets are made available for ambulant vendors, sari-sari stores, and tricycle and pedicab drivers, groceries and even government offices.
According to BSP rules, e-money issuers need a minimum capital of P100 million to maintain its business. An aggregate load limit of P100,000 for e-money instruments per month is also imposed for digital wallets.
Most big banks in the Philippines hold EMI licenses, although more financial technology firms are entering the space.
The BSP is eyeing to raise the share of digital payments to 20% of total transactions next year from a measly 1% share in 2013 through its National Retail Payment System initiative. Based on industry estimates, there are roughly 2.5 billion in total monthly transactions, with nearly all settled using cash.
The BSP has been embracing the use of technology to spur wider access to financial services while also bringing down transaction costs for Filipinos, in a bid to broaden financial inclusion.
The Philippines ranked fourth among 55 nations in terms of financial inclusion, according to the 2018 Global Microscope of the Economist Intelligence Unit. This puts the country the best in Asia together with India, who shared to fourth spot.
However, results of the central bank’s Financial Inclusion Survey revealed that 52.8 million Filipino adults still do not own accounts from any formal financial institution in 2017. Majority of them said they do not have enough money to open their own account, while others do not see the need to maintain one.

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