THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is urging the social welfare department to help increase the percentage of Filipinos who have bank accounts through the use of e-wallets and e-banking as it delivers aid to families affected by the Luzon-wide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando D. Bautista on Thursday, ARTA encouraged the department to partner with e-wallet and e-banking institutions. “The SAP (Social Amelioration Program) is an opportunity to bring 18 million households to have at least one bank account,” ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said in the letter.

The authority noted that only 15.8 million adult Filipinos, or 22.6% of the population, have bank accounts while 52.8 million are unbanked.

Under the law that gave President Rodrigo R. Duterte special powers to deal with the outbreak, affected Metro Manila households will get P8,000 in subsidies for two months, while those in other regions will get P5,000 to P6,000.

ARTA also recommended online registration for the social amelioration program, with validation done by local government offline.

“By taking the registration online, it removes many of the opportunities of abuse, fraud, and politicizing,” Mr. Belgica said, adding that local officials would only validate the identities of beneficiaries and will not be in charge of distributing the subsidies.

Mr. Belgica said that while ARTA recognizes that electronic payment systems are in their infancy in the Philippines, the payment method would minimize risks of beneficiaries being infected by the virus.

The authority recommends the use of cashless e-banking in urban areas where most groceries and stores accept PayMaya, GCash, and debit cards at the Point-of-Sale (POS). Cashless e-banking facilities may also be used in rural areas, where there are fewer ATMs and banking facilities.

“Encashment may be conducted through the established conduits of these facilities, such as Smart Padala, remittance centers, and cooperatives which may be enabled to act as payment conduits by the financial institutions.”

ARTA said the social welfare department can partner with e-wallet and e-banking institutions such as PayMaya, UnionBank’s EON, and GCash.

“What separates these e-banking facilities from other smaller financial systems is the use and reliance of technology that renders streamlined both information and financial dissemination.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

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