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Even as more and more Filipinos are using services available at their fingertips through cellular phones, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) deputy governor Nestor Espenilla said he is not keen on imposing more regulations, especially a cap on service charges, on mobile banking.

"We don’t want to regulate and impose a price cap. Rather than a price cap, let competition come in," Espenilla said.

Espenilla said mobile banking is an ideal solution for a country like the Philippines.

"Text savvy ang mga Filipinos and many are still un-banked," Espenilla said.

Espenilla said mobile banking has turned into a competition, not only among the top telecom providers but also among banks and other firms engaged in money transfer.

He said because of the increasing numbers of people using mobile banking for their money transfer needs, some courier services are lowering their fees.

"That’s how competition is shaping. And the Filipino consumers are evidently the winners here," Espenilla said.

The central bank earlier said there are now eight million Filipinos using mobile banking services offered by telecom providers, boosting financial services to the un-banked in the countryside.

"(There are now) eight million users of e-money (Smart money and G-cash)," Espenilla said.

Smart Money and G-Cash are the e-money services being offered by Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, respectively.

Espenilla also said there are now 49 rural banks offering mobile banking for microfinance operations from none before 2005.

Through e-money, mobile subscribers, particularly those without bank accounts, can deposit, transfer, and withdraw money from one account to another from nearly 28,000 cash-in, cash-out points nationwide.

"Technology extends the outreach of microfinance and banking services to a large number of bankable but un-banked, especially those in rural and hard to reach areas at a lower cost and higher efficiency," Espenilla said.

Espenilla said the mobile phone industry serves all income groups, especially the low income group.

"More than 75 percent of the population has mobile phones whereas the internet penetration is only 5 percent," Espenilla said.

Espenilla also said that the Philippines has been recognized by international organizations for its microfinance initiatives and is considered as the "pioneer in mobile banking solutions for the poor."

"Some banks even lowered interest rates on microfinance loans for clients who use text-a-payment platform by 50 basis points on monthly rates," Espenilla added.

He added that electronic transactions could also be used for remittances from Filipinos abroad.

"(Mobile banking) added lower cost channels for remittances. Domestic remittance cost fell from six to seven percent of amount of remittance to one percent," Espenilla said.

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