Probe sought on unauthorized mobile wallet transfers

MANILA, Philippines —  Sen. Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking an investigation into the spate of unauthorized transactions in digital wallets, following the latest incident involving GCash.

In her Resolution 1234, Hontiveros said there is a need to investigate in aid of legislation the “recent incidents of unauthorized or fraudulent deductions and transfers involving financial technology (fintech) services, as well as existing rules and regulations governing the fintech sector.”

Hontiveros cited the P1,000 to P2,000 unauthorized transfers to different GCash accounts last weekend that were traced to a technical, internal issue with its “Send Ang Pao” feature and its “system reconciliation process.” GCash ruled out there was hacking or “phishing” involved.

She also cited text “phishing” attempts done to GCash and another digital wallet platform Maya users through an “International Mobile Subscriber Identity” catcher, a device used to monitor and intercept mobile data traffic by posing as a cell site.

While the “nascent” fintech sector is regulated by agencies like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, there is “no legislative framework in place to ensure stability and transparency, build public trust and promote inclusion vis-a-vis this class of services.”

“Mobile financial services have become a part of daily life for millions of Filipinos and the fintech sector has been an important driver of economic growth and financial inclusion. GCash alone has an estimated 76 million users who posted P6 trillion worth of transactions in 2022 – that is almost equal to our national budget next year,” Hontiveros said.

The growing list of risks involving mobile financial services that threaten the earnings of users is an urgent call to upgrade “policies to ensure that mobile financial service providers and fintech firms observe the necessary level of care and accountability in handling digital transactions,” according to the senator.