The Philippines’ largest fintech industry association has publicly endorsed a proposal to transfer supervisory authority over online lending platforms from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, marking a potential structural realignment of how digital consumer credit is regulated in the country. The development arrives as the SEC simultaneously moves to lift a moratorium on new online lending platforms that has been in place since November 2021, raising questions about which agency will ultimately govern market re-entry.
Key Facts At A Glance
- FinTech Alliance PH founding chairman Lito Villanueva publicly backed the BSP takeover of online lending platform oversight on May 13–14, 2026
- The SEC submitted a position paper to Congress in April 2026 seeking to transfer oversight of financing and lending companies to the BSP
- BSP said it is open to the proposal; the transfer can be effected through legislation or administrative circular
- The OLP moratorium has been in place since November 5, 2021 under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10, Series of 2021
- The SEC’s draft circular to lift the moratorium proposes tiered capital requirements: up to PHP 100 million for financing companies operating the maximum of 10 OLPs
- Only 50% of Filipino adults owned a formal financial account in 2025, down from 56% in 2021, according to the BSP Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey
- Three of the six licensed digital banks in the Philippines are now profitable, according to FinTech Alliance PH
A Fractured Oversight Landscape
The current regulatory structure governing digital lending in the Philippines divides authority between two agencies with distinct mandates. Under the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 and the Financing Company Act of 1998, the SEC serves as the primary regulator of lending and financing companies, including those operating online lending platforms. The BSP, meanwhile, oversees banks, quasi-banks, and the broader payment infrastructure including digital banks and e-money issuers.
SEC Commissioner Rogelio Quevedo told lawmakers and industry stakeholders in April 2026 that he had submitted a position paper to Congress seeking the full transfer of oversight. His remarks were unambiguous: “I am ready to turn over this function to the BSP. Financing and lending companies are one of the serious headaches of the SEC,” Quevedo said, adding that credit regulation had always logically belonged with the central bank. The BSP responded that it was open to the proposal and that the transfer could be effected either through legislation or through administrative circulars, leaving the mechanics of transition still open.
Industry Alignment
FinTech Alliance PH, the country’s largest fintech organization, moved formally to back the proposal this week. Villanueva argued that consolidated oversight would reduce regulatory arbitrage, the practice whereby firms exploit gaps or overlaps between regulatory regimes to minimize compliance burden. He also noted that interest-rate-setting authority already rests with the BSP, making a unified supervisory structure a logical extension of existing policy architecture.
The group is also pushing for higher minimum capitalization requirements for lending companies seeking to operate OLPs, arguing that the current threshold is insufficient to ensure only adequately capitalized players enter the market. Villanueva drew a direct contrast with the digital banking sector, where licensees are required to hold at least PHP 1 billion in capital before receiving a BSP license.
The SEC had proposed its own tiered capital requirements in its March 2026 draft circular: financing companies without OLPs would need PHP 20 million, while those operating up to 10 platforms would require PHP 100 million in paid-up capital. A subsequent update indicated the SEC was revisiting the floor for smaller companies, potentially maintaining the existing PHP 1 million minimum for lenders without online platforms but imposing territorial restrictions on their operations.
Moratorium And Market Re-Entry
The SEC published a draft memorandum circular on March 11–12, 2026 proposing to formally lift and supersede the 2021 moratorium, which it described as no longer proportionate to market conditions given the maturation of regulatory standards. The public comment period closed March 25. Commissioner Quevedo has indicated the approved circular is targeted for release before the second semester of 2026.
If the regulatory transfer proceeds concurrently, the BSP could find itself receiving authority over a market it is being asked to reopen under new standards it did not itself design. No formal legislative timeline has been published.
Inclusion Backdrop
The regulatory shift is occurring against a backdrop of declining financial inclusion metrics that have unsettled policymakers. The BSP’s Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey recorded formal financial account ownership among Filipino adults at 50% in 2025, down from 56% in 2021. The decline contradicts assumptions that digital banking and e-wallet growth would linearly expand account ownership. FinTech Alliance PH said it is reframing its “80 by 80 by 2028” goal toward active account usage, rather than account creation, reflecting a shift in how the sector measures progress on inclusion.