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Ensuring that cash agents are spread throughout the nation, including in villages, is anticipated to help the government’s drive for financial inclusion and rise in electronic financial transactions.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) financial inclusion office director Ellen Joyce Suficiencia stated in a virtual briefing on October 14, 2021, that the regulator does not consider any ideal ratio of cash agents per capita but aims to expand the penetration of these providers at the barangay (village) level.

“It is essential not only to look at the overall number but also to ensure that they are well-dispersed, particularly at the barangay level, since the importance of cash agents is that they offer proximity and make cash-in and cash-out more convenient for individuals.” And by doing so, we can bridge the gap between a population that is highly dependent on cash transactions and a population that is increasingly relying on digital payments by encouraging the simplicity of converting cash to digital,” she said.

Cash agents are retail establishments such as convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, and pawnshops that provide basic banking services such as cash deposits and withdrawals, balance inquiries, money transfers, and bill payments.

Some of these companies are recruited by banks to offer financial-related services as a cost-effective method for the latter to extend their reach.

During the same virtual briefing, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said that the number of cash agents would increase by 242 percent in 2020 to more than 58,000, up from about 17,000 the previous year.

According to Diokno, the number of banks with cash agent activities would rise to 15 in 2020, up from 11 the previous year.

According to him, they comprised seven universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), three thrift banks (TBs), and five rural banks (RBs).

“Cash agents, as low-cost touchpoints, have substantially increased the number of cities and municipalities serviced by banks.” Furthermore, as a result of the presence of bank agents, the proportion of banked local government entities rose from 70% to 85%,” he added.

According to Diokno, there are now about 58,217 active cash agents across the country, in addition to approximately 35,681 automated teller machines (ATMs) and bank offices.

He said that although the BSP does not control these cash agents’ transaction costs, banks and BSP-supervised institutions are “required to be fair and transparent in their pricing system, including their cash agent fees.”

“It is the duty of banks to disclose these costs to their customers,” he said.

According to Suficiencia, the findings of the 2019 financial inclusion survey indicate that bank account ownership across urban and rural people is “nearly the same.”

She said that although the National Capital Region has the most bank accounts per capita, it also has the most security problems, “therefore that region recorded the lowest account per capita.”

“When it comes to account ownership, it’s fair to conclude that high-income areas and regions have a smaller unbanked population, and, of course, low-income regions have a larger unbanked population,” she said.

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