Digital Pera: Investing via mobile phones

Filipinos will soon be able to make pension plan investments through their mobile phones, thanks to a new central bank initiative to bring the benefits of the 12-year-old Personal Equity and Retirement Account Law to more people.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Governor Benjamin Diokno would lead next week the launch of the “Digital Pera” initiative in collaboration with Trust Officers Association of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of bankers involved in managing clients’ long-term investments.

“[This] will allow Filipinos to invest in Pera investment products anytime, anywhere using their mobile phones and other devices,” he said. “This is in line with the BSP’s thrust to foster digitalization in the financial system and bring the BSP closer to the people.”

Personal equity and retirement accounts—made possible by a law enacted in 2008 but still underutilized to this day—is a voluntary retirement account that can be another source of retirement benefits on top of the retirement programs implemented by the Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System.

The Pera scheme is structured to encourage Filipinos to invest in long-term retirement saving products while enjoying certain tax incentives.

Diokno said the digitalization of the process would enable Pera-accredited banks and financial institutions to provide convenient and affordable retirement saving products to more investors through more efficient channels. INQ