The number of Filipinos owning basic deposit accounts (BDAs) more than doubled in the first quarter this year thanks to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Data from the BSP showed there was a 170 percent increase in the number of BDAs to 21.9 million in the first quarter this year from 8.1 million in the first quarter in 2022.
With this, the total value of BDA deposits reached P27 billion, a 432 percent rise from P5.1 billion in the first quarter in 2022.
“Part of the growth was driven by the conversion to BDA of transaction accounts opened under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) co-location strategy in the fourth quarter in 2022, which resulted in 7.5 million additional BDAs,” BSP said.
Apart from biometrics capture such as iris scans, Step 2 of the registration process for the National ID also allowed unbanked individuals to open bank accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).
BSP said the co-location strategy employed by PSA and LandBank aimed to onboard unbanked PhilSys registrants into the formal financial system after their biometrics capture at registration centers.
The central bank also said five more banks started offering BDAs in the first quarter this year and generated 4.3 million newly opened accounts.
Introduced by the BSP in 2018, the BDA aims to meet the needs of the unbanked and low-income sector for affordable and easy-to-open bank accounts.
It has a low opening deposit requirement of P100 or less, simple identification requirements, no maintaining balance requirement and no dormancy charges.
Through the BDA, more Filipinos can open a savings account that is interest-earning in selected banks and is insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation.
As of July 2023, PSA data showed 89.6 percent or 79.99 million of Filipinos registered for national IDs.
A total of 77.33 million Filipinos were given Philsys Numbers while 41.36 million cards have been dispatched and 34.72 million have received their cards.
The PSA data also showed 38.6 million Filipinos were issued printed PhilIDs and 1.23 million downloaded their PhilIDs.
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