BSP Circular 649: E-Money/E-Wallet Regulation

A few months ago I received a draft of the proposed BSP Circular on the regualtion of e-Money and was released last March 9 with effectivity 15 days later

Circular 649 provided the regulatory framework over the fast-growing electronic money business in the Philippines to provide protection for consumers and to promote innovations in fund transfer mechanisms that benefit Filipino consumers. The Circular prescribed the minimum requirements for each Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) category to ensure that the risks inherent in e-money business are mitigated and that EMIs adhere to prescribed levels of safety, security and soundness. Provisions include the following:

a. EMIs shall put in place a system to maintain accurate and complete record of e-money transactions and other pertinent information

b. E-money shall only be redeemed at face value. It is not considered a deposit, hence, it is not insured with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation;

c. E-money instruments shall be subject to aggregate monthly load limit of PhP100k

d. EMIs shall ensure compliance with applicable requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering laws, rules and regulations (e.g. (Know Your Customer, KYC and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR))

e. EMI's should be stock corporation with capitalization of PhP100M

Circular 649 is for the protection of the public against fly-by-night e-money companies.

Complete text of BSP Circular Number 649 can be downloaded from BSP official website.

Credit Card Remittance Scam

Here's a warning to those people fond of making a few savings from sending money to the Philippines:

A modus operandi of scammers using stolen credit card information to send money to the Philippines and beyond:

How do the miscreants behind the credit card fraud do it? The scums do it by setting up entities claiming to be remittance service providers in connivance with unscrupulous individuals outside the Philippines. Their "foreign" partners send money to the Philippines by using stolen credit card numbers and information thereby defrauding unknowing cardholders.

The scheme is made complicated by doing fraudulent money transfers by agents in an initial recipient country like the Philippines, then send the money to another country where the final recipient is located, making the Philippines sort of a "trans-shipment point" of stolen funds.

In the process, the recipient can receive the money sent to him/her but at the expense of the credit card holder.

Lesson: In sending money to the Philippines, choose legitimate remittance companies and just fly-by-night ones. You might find yourself in the middle of an investigation if you're not careful.

Death of Francis Magalona after bout with Leukemia

I'm one of the first to learn of Francis M.'s departure when Maxene Magalona texted my officemate about it during lunch...Such a sad day for me for I'm a fan of Francis M. for his refreshing and nationalist songs.

at such a your age of 44, he succumbed to multiple organ failure due to leukemia. He will be interred at Christ the King Church in Quezon City...won't be able to be there at his wake though. for sure there'll be too many people to visit him there and pay last respect for a man with a such a "kaleidoscope world."

Win Free Tickets to Eraserheads Live Concert "The Final Set"

If you're looking for free tickets without sweating it out, this post is not for you. However, with a bit of luck and speedy fingers you may be able to score free tickets to the upcoming Eraserheads concert dubbed "The Final Set"

here's how

1. Tune in to NU107 FM at 107.5 MHz. I just heard earlier today (while stuck in traffic) a guy won a pair tickets to the Eheads concert by calling the radio station the moment they announced the contest.

2. From Jam 88.3 (88.3 MHz on the FM band), you need to show up with the Coke Bench T-shirt at the concert ticketing office at 5pm. The first 500 people to arrive with the T-Shirt will win tickets

Good luck!