By The Philippine Business & News
As the national government continues to push for wider digitalization of its services and transactions, FinTech Alliance PH supports the implementation of Executive Order 170 on the
“Adoption of Digital Payments for Government Disbursements and Collections” signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last May 12.
EO 170 directs all government agencies, departments and instrumentalities to adopt digital payments for their collections and disbursements. Covered agencies also include state universities and colleges, government-owned and –controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local government units (LGUs).
The executive order permits government units and agencies to directly disburse funds into the accounts of beneficiaries and recipients through banking services such as Advice to Debit Account and interoperable Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs) without any need for special arrangements from servicing banks, whether government or private.
Consequently, EO 170 also mandates government units to make available digital payments options for the collection of taxes, fees, tolls, and other government charges. Processing of such payments must be securely done with recognized interoperable digital payments solutions and service providers that comply with the National Retail Payment System Framework.
The Alliance sees the newly signed mandate as a step towards making government financial transactions easily accessible and convenient to the ordinary Filipinos. In the past two years at the height of the pandemic, key government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Social Security System have already started to establish partnerships with some of the Alliance members for the efficient and faster disbursement of financial aid to Filipinos.
“The FinTech Alliance PH welcomes President Duterte’s EO 170 directing government agencies to use digital modes in disbursing and accepting payments in the entire bureaucracy. This initiative will further promote transparency, efficiency, and speed in government transactions enabling more Filipinos to conveniently send and receive payments,” said Lito Villanueva, FinTech Alliance PH Founding Chairman.
“Government-to-person and person-to-government transactions remain one of the largest financial transaction use cases that would deliver exponential growth in digital adoption. This must be complemented with fast, reliable, and affordable data and telecoms infrastructure even in remote areas in the country to allow more users to embrace it,” he added.
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