MANILA - Financial institutions such as banks should recognize the new Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) ID or the national ID as sufficient proof of identity when opening bank accounts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday.

In a statement, the BSP said it has urged BSP Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) to accept the PhilID in both physical and mobile formats as "sufficient proof of identity" without the need for another ID.

The PhilSys system will offer both online and offline methods of identity authentication through the PhilID physical security features, QR code digital verification, biometric verification and SMS one-time password (OTP), the BSP said.

Using the PhilID is also more secure compared to the manual matching of handwritten signature, it added.

The BSP's call is in support of the Philippine Statistics Authority's Memorandum No. M-2021-057 reminding all government and private firms to accept the national ID card as "sufficient proof of identity" in line with the PhilSys Act, the BSP said.

“PhilSys will help more Filipinos, especially the marginalized and low-income, to begin saving money in banks and other BSFIs,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

Diokno said the national ID system would boost growth of the country's Basic Deposit Account, the services to the unbanked as well as its digitalization goals.

Financial institutions were also directed to include the PhilID in their list of valid IDs, the BSP said.

As of Oct. 21, at least 5,922,304 bank accounts were opened under the co-location agreement of the BSP, PSA and Land Bank.

• 1.7 million Filipinos have received national ID
• Nearly 42 million register for national ID: NEDA

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