Rural Financial Inclusion and Literacy Act

Senato Difier of the secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 25 NOV 24 A10 :23 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session ) RECEIVED BY SENATE Senate Bill No. 1550 Introduced by Senator Erwin T. Tulfo AN ACT PROMOTING RURAL FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND LITERACY EXPLANATORY NOTE "Financial inclusion" is defined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as "a state wherein there is effective access to a wid range of financial services for all, especially the vulnerable sectors. Effective access does not only mean that there are financial products and services that are available. These products and services must be appropriately designed, of good quality and responsive to the varied needs of individuals and businesses, whether for saving, payments, financing investments, or insurance."! However, the promotion of greater financial inclusion and education in the country remains a challenge. Since then, the BSP intensified its efforts to achieve these goals. They developed a comprehensive and interactive online information system and conducted various studies and activities related to it. As a result, the BSP reported that "from 2020 until the third quarter of 2021, about 20 million unbanked Filipino adults have been included in the formal system through the opening of basic deposit 'Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Inclusive Finance (bsp.gov.ph)

accounts (BDA) and active e-money accounts" and that "brought that banked adult Filipinos to 41 million, or about 53 percent of the total adult Filipinos to date. "2 In 2023, the BSP and the PSA announced that there is a 170% increase in the number of Filipinos who opened BDA, having 7.5 million additional BDAs in the latter part of 2022.3 The "Rural Financial Inclusion and Literacy Act" aims to strengthen the BSP's ongoing efforts by creating a Financial Inclusion and Digital Literacy Program that promotes engagement with financial institutions in rural areas and equips the public with essential financial knowledge and skills. The program, to be implemented by the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (NFISC) chaired by the BSP Governor, will prioritize marginalized sectors and MSMEs. It also seeks to build a digital financial ecosystem nationwide through improved access to digital services, ATMs, rural bank offices, retail payment systems, low-cost touchpoints, and cash agents, while enhancing the National ID System and DICT's Tech4ED program. In view of the foregoing, the swift approval of this bill is highly recommended. ERWIN T. TULFO {Deposit accounts, e-monev boost BSP's financial inclusion bid I Philippine News Agency (pna.Rov.ph) 3PSA Welcomes BSP Report on Increased Financial Inclusion, Citing Colocation Efforts with LANDBANK I Philippine Statistics Authority I Republic of the Philippines

Schale ffice of the fretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session NOV 24 A10:23 RECEIVED BY: SENATE Senate Bill No. 1550 Introduced by Senator Erwin T. Tulfo AN ACT PROMOTING RURAL FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND LITERACY Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Rural

2 Financial Inclusion and Literacy Act"

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to

promote financial empowerment and reduce financial vulnerabilities among its citizens by taking proactive measures in developing 7 technological capacities of various financial institutions in the rural 8 areas to improve access to financial services. Toward this end, the State 9 shall promote financial inclusion and literacy programs that contribute in establishing a financial system to benefit all Filipinos, regardless of socio-economic status, to accelerate economic growth and development especially in rural and provincial areas.

SEC. 3. Financial Inclusion and Digital Literacy Program. - A

proactive Financial Inclusion and Digital Literacy Program (Program) is hereby established to promote the engagement with financial service institutions such as rural banks, lending companies, insurance and pre- need companies, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in

rural areas. The Program includes the conduct of nationwide seminars and workshops, development of modules, trainings on organizational development and financial management on credit worthiness, loan acquisition and repayment, and wide dissemination of information and education campaign (IEC) materials that are tailored to different sectors. The Program shall also contain a basic understanding of concepts 9 of financial inclusion, and may include technical application to provide 10 the public with knowledge and skills to make well-informed economic and financial decisions. Priority sectors shall include small farmers, 12 fisherfolk, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

SEC. 4. Program Implementation. - The Program shall be

implemented by the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (NFISC) chaired by the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). For a more inclusive implementation, local government units, non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) network, federation of cooperatives, cooperatives specially assisted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), shall also be included. Completion of a component of the Program may be used to comply with the requirements of financial institutions on various financial products such as savings, payment, credit, insurance, pre-need products and health maintenance services (HMOs). The NFISC, together with other stakeholders, shall optimize the use of all available mass media networks as an effective channel in promoting public awareness and education about the Program.

SEC. 5. Capacity Building for Rural Banks. - Rural banks, and

other financial institutions such as microfinance institutions and cooperatives operating in the rural areas shall establish capacity- building programs aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of their personnel on innovative technologies such as mobile payments, online lending, blockchain application, cloud computing, application programming interface (API) and artificial intelligence. Cybersecurity considerations and data privacy protection under Republic Act No.

1 10175, otherwise known as the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012" 2 and Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012" shall be considered and incorporated in the capacity 4 building program. To further scale up the technology capabilities of rural banks, the 7 Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) may assist its member banks by establishing industry-level standards on internet technology (IT) outsourcing and vendor management such as those pertaining with other recognized industry associations such as other bank associations, financial technology alliances, and reputable market 12 players in organizing technology-focused briefings and/or information sessions for its member banks. Moreover, rural banks shall adhere to and comply with relevant BSP rules on technology and information security risk management. Informal financial service institutions shall be strengthened to improve their services in the rural areas by linking them to formal financial institutions, and setting up of community trainings to institutionalize their operation and reinforce their management capacity and governance.

SEC. 6. National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee. - To

further systematically accelerate financial inclusion, the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (NFISC) which is chaired by the Governor of the BSP shall spearhead collaborative efforts to address regulation and execute innovative modes of implementation. The NFISC is composed of heads of the following agencies: a) Department of Finance; b) Department of Education; c) Department of Trade and Industry; d) Department of Social Welfare and Development; e) Department of Budget and Management; f) National Economic and Development Authority; g) Insurance Commission; h) Commission on Filipinos Overseas;

i) Securities and Exchange Commission; j) Philippine Statistics Authority; k) Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation; 1) Cooperative Development Authority; m) Department of Science and Technology; n) Department of Information and Communications Technology; o) Department of Agriculture; p) Department of Agrarian Reform; q) Department of the Interior and Local Government; r) Department of Labor and Employment; s) Department of Transportation; and t) Philippine Commission on Women. Heads of other government agencies may be invited as NFISC members whenever appropriate and necessary as deemed by the NFISC. Further, the NFISC shall prepare a roadmap for the Program to cover all regions, barangays, and the smallest units in the community, and provide for mechanisms that protect and boost financial activities, especially within the provinces and rural areas. The road map shall prioritize areas identified with high poverty incidence, particularly the poor and marginalized sectors of small farmers and fisherfolk who have limited access to credit from formal financial institutions. Consultation with government financial institutions (GFIs) should be continuously undertaken to address potential technical or administrative issues to ensure the effective and efficient roll out of financial technology among Filipinos, especially residing in rural communities and remote areas. All these government financial institutions and agencies shall also cooperate in the implementation of the National Strategy on Financial Inclusion, which is a comprehensive public document developed through a broad-based consultative process with private and public sector stakeholders involved in financial sector development to systematically accelerate the level of financial inclusion in the country.

SEC. 7. Priority Implementation Points. - There shall be priority

2 agenda implementation points to establish a digital financial ecosystem that supports the diverse needs of all users in a manner that is secure, sustainable, convenient and affordable especially in provinces and rural areas. These priority implementation points include the following: a) Enhanced access to digital devices by strengthening local infrastructure support for digital and online platforms; b) Provision of automated teller machines (ATMs) and satellite rural bank offices; c) Efficient retail payments system; d) Expansive network of low-cost touchpoints and accredited cash agents; e) Democratized access to a transaction account through the utilization of a national identification system as mandated by Republic Act No. 11055, otherwise known as the "Philippine Identification System Act" (PhilSys Act) t) Enhanced collaboration with rural financial institutions such as rural banks, cooperatives, micro finance institutions, and other non-bank financial institutions (NBFls) such as lending and financing and investment companies, securities dealers, brokers, pawnshops and other money service businesses; g) Enhanced Technology Empowerment for Education, and Economic Employment, Entrepreneurship Development Program (Tech4ED) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) which provides critical information and communications technology enabled services in communities with minimal or no access to information and government services and learning and continuous skills development opportunities for special sectors including women, persons with disabilities and senior citizens.

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety

(90) days after the effectivity of this Act, the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Members of the NFISC shall, in collaboration with the representatives from government financial institutions, Rural

1 Bankers Association of the Philippines and other stakeholders, issue 2 the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of 3 this Act.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. - Should any provision or part of

6 this Act be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions 7 and parts hereof, insofar as they are separable from the invalid ones, shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders,

proclamations, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days

after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Approved,