THE Securities and Exchange Commission said last Thursday it was able to remove 33 unregistered online lending platforms (OLPs), as of end of January, on Google Play Store, with the assistance of Google Philippines Inc.
These lending platforms have not been reported to the SEC, in violation of SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) 19 (series of 2019) or the “Disclosure Requirements on Advertisements of Financing Companies and Lending Companies and Reporting of OLPs.”
The removal of these unregistered lending platforms is also in line with the SEC’s previous discussions with the local business of Alphabet Inc. In May 2022, the firm adopted a new policy that required developers with personal loan apps targeting users in the Philippines to submit a personal loan app declaration and necessary documentation before they could publish apps on the Google Play Store.
Personal loan apps operating in the Philippines without proper declaration and license attribution will be removed from Google Play Store. In the event where the submitted license, registration or declaration is no longer valid under the law, the developers are required to remove the app from the Google Play Store.
Protect borrowers
UNDER SEC MC 19, financing and lending companies are required to register their OLPs as business names and disclose their corporate names, SEC Registration Numbers and Certificate of Authority Numbers in their OLPs and advertisements.
In November 2021, the SEC further issued SEC MC 10 (series of 2021), which imposed a moratorium on the registration of new OLPs.
SEC MC 10 provides that only OLPs registered as of November 2, 2021, may operate and be used for online lending or financing, but will remain subject to strict monitoring.
“The SEC will continue its efforts to protect existing and prospective borrowers from abusive, unethical and illegal lenders,” the agency said.
To date, the SEC has revoked the Certificates of Registration of 2,084 lending and financing companies that failed to secure their requisite Certificate of Authority. The agency also canceled the respective Certificate of Authority of 39 financing and lending companies due to various violations of applicable rules and regulations.
“The SEC is looking at engaging with other social media platforms for the adoption of a similar gatekeeping policy imposed by Google Philippines in the interest of customer protection,” the agency said.
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