Casino, not bakery: Philippine e-payment firms urged to improve merchant vetting

Electronic payment providers need to be more diligent in vetting companies that use their platforms to protect people from fraud, the Philippine central bank said.

The requirement came after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas found thousands of illegal businesses on the payment platforms, including many online casinos masquerading as more ordinary companies like beauty salons and bakeries.

“We want to protect consumers from online fraud, illegal activities and also from money launderers,” Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said in an interview. “You cannot expand digitalisation if people’s money is being stolen” or they are being scammed.