The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines revealed that it will be making a full shift towards all-digital payments by February 1, 2023.
The general public residing in the Southeast Asian country will be using the eSPAYSEC that was introduced in March 2022, in order to complete the payment of fees and penalties to the Commission.
In order to carry out a payment, consumers will have to enter the reference number provided in the Payment Assessment Form (which is issued by the SEC in the Philippines), select a particular payment option, and then enter in the required details.
After the payment is completed, the system will reportedly generate a digital official receipt, which will be sent out via email.
The general public can pay using debit and credit cards which are powered by Visa, Mastercard and JCB, along with virtual wallets like GCash and Maya for a certain fee.
The SEC also entered a deal with LANDBANK that should enable payments for SEC-related transfers to be carried out via its online collection facility at all 609 branches located throughout the country.
The commission said it will only accept over-the-counter transfers until 31 January 2023.
This recent decision is in line or consistent with the mandated zero face-to-face transaction policy and also the automation of business-related transfers.
SEC Chair Emilio B. Aquino said:
“The shift to online and offsite payments furthers our unwavering commitment to ensuring the transparent and efficient management of our funds, as transaction fees and any other amounts that we collect will directly be deposited to and immediately be reflected on the Commission’s accounts. This also complements the transacting public’s pivot to cashless transactions, and the national government’s push for the digital transformation of public services to improve ease of doing business in the Philippines, as in the case of the SEC.”
