Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo
The Philippines’ central bank on Monday said it will investigate popular digital payment platform GCash following reports over the weekend that several users experienced unauthorized transfers, which the company behind the e-wallet has attributed to errors in its internal process.
In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it instructed the G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), the operator of GCash e-wallet, to immediately resolve the reported unauthorized deductions on account balances of affected users and to swiftly complete the process of refunds that it has initiated.
“BSP has likewise required GXI to submit regular updates on its actions on the matter,” it said, adding that it is closely coordinating with the company to ensure a “prompt resolution” of the issue.
The country’s financial regulator said that the incident was attributed to a system error based on the initial report submitted to them by the Ayala-led company.
READ: GCash fixing system error in e-wallet
“GXI assured that all accounts of GCash users remain secure and that they are now in the process of refunding the deductions,” said the BSP.
“BSP will investigate the incident further to identify possible vulnerabilities and review compliance with regulations and policies,” it added.
Furthermore, the central bank encouraged affected users to coordinate with the company for the immediate resolution of their complaints.
For users who are not satisfied with the handling of their cases, the BSP said that they may escalate their concerns to the BSP Online Buddy (BOB) through any of the following channels.
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These channels include the BSP Facebook Messenger at @BangkoSentralngPilipinas or through their website at www.bsp.gov.ph.
GCash currently has a user base of 94 million, with plans to expand to 10 more countries from its current 16 markets to reach more Filipinos overseas.