Bangko Sentral allays fears of money laundering by e-money agents

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has allayed concerns that retail outlets which will soon be authorized to act as e-money agents could be used as possible conduits for money laundering.

BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. told reporters that the design of e-money, by nature, is only small in value and poses a limit in their allowable transactions, making these as preemptive measures against money laundering.

“If you will use e-money to launder, it would take immense effort and besides, if money laundering is your purpose, the safest place for money laundering is still cash, because it is anonymous,” he explained.

Furthermore, Espenilla pointed out that in e-money transactions, information trail is stored for computer records, making e-money agents “inherently unattractive for money laundering.”

Asked how the KYC (know-your-client) policy will be performed in this pioneering work, he said the BSP is still studying if it could be legally outsourced.

Moreover, money lenders, pawnshops and post offices which are allowed by the BSP to operate as remittance agents could also function as e-money agents as well.

“It is easier to deal with pawnshops since those are already regulated. Retail chains like Mercury Drug and postal offices in every municipality are also good possibilities,” he said.

Espenilla also cleared that while retail chains and outlets would act as e-money agents, the possibility of making them as deposit-taking units remains uncertain.

“Right now, we’re not looking at it, because it’s a lot harder to regulate,” he pointed out. — Divina Rosa Natanauan