THE CENTRAL BANK is targeting to finalize within the year the members of the industry-led open finance oversight committee (OFOC) that will formulate the standards and framework for customer-consented data sharing among financial institutions, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.
The OFOC is set to include representatives from various financial institutions such as commercial, thrift, rural, and digital banks, nonbank financial institutions, electronic money issuers, operators of payment systems, and other relevant sectors.
“It [OFOC] shall promote non-discriminatory membership by ensuring that key areas of interest of the financial industry are adequately represented and that all participants and applicants for membership are treated fairly and consistently,” Mr. Diokno said at an online briefing on Thursday.
The central bank in June released Circular 1122 or the open finance framework, which allows for consent-driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships among financial institutions that adhere to the same standards of data security and privacy.
The framework has tiered implementation based on data sensitivity, data type, and data holder type. It has five tiers: product and service information, subscription and new account applications, account information, transactions, and others.
“The tiers are not necessarily sequential and multiple implementations may be undertaken simultaneously,” Mr. Diokno said.
The open finance framework also opens the possibility for easier know-your-customer (KYC) processes.
“It’s possible for us to be able to come up with agreements not only on the electronic KYC but also other ways to benefit from data sharing. It’s a matter of coming up with the rules that will help standardize that across the different players from banks to the other players in the market,” said Anatoly D. Gusto, Bank Officer V at the BSP’s Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Department.
In June, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. teamed up for a data-sharing project to help small lenders set up their own online platforms. The partnership came after the open finance framework was approved by the Monetary Board. — L.W.T. Noble