THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects to complete its investigation into a reported system glitch that led to unauthorized deductions for GCash users next month, Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said on Wednesday.
The probe, which was initiated after users of the country’s largest e-wallet earlier this month complained that their accounts had been depleted, will be finished in 15 days or by mid-December, he added.
GCash operator G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) has said that a system issue was behind the unauthorized transactions and that the money would be returned to affected clients.
The BSP ordered GXI to expedite the refunds and provide regular updates. It also said it would “investigate the incident further to identify possible vulnerabilities and review compliance with regulations and policies.”
Tangonan said that identifying the root cause of the incident was critical as this could help identify potential policy gaps.
“Payments are built on trust,” he said. “If people don’t trust the system, they won’t use it, which undermines the benefits of digital payments.”
Tangonan noted that GCash had taken steps to address the problem. “I think they also reported that they have been made whole, meaning they have returned whatever was lost,” he added.
The BSP has said that fraudulent transfers accounted for just 0.002 percent of total digital transactions last year.
Despite the low occurrence, Tangonan said the central bank remained committed to ensuring the safety and reliability of payment platforms.
Additional rules may not be needed, he added, with existing policies just needing to be reinforced.
“Sometimes the policy is already in place; it just needs better monitoring and enforcement.”
He also said that any gaps identified during the investigation would be discussed directly with GXI’s senior management.
“Well, this is hypothetical. Of course, if there are infractions, noncompliance … that’s [imposing sanctions] the course of action to take,” Tangonan said.
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