Guidelines on Disclosure and Transparency of Remittance and Transfer Companies and their Remittance Sub-Agents

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR FINANCIAL SUPERVISION SECTOR 032 MEMORANDUM NO. M-2021-____ To : ALL REMITTANCE AND TRANSFER COMPANIES Subject : Guidelines on Disclosure and Transparency of Remittance and Transfer Companies and their Remittance Sub-Agents Pursuant to Section 901-N of the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (MORNBFI), as amended by BSP Circular No. 1039 dated 03 May 2019, a Remittance and Transfer Company (RTC) may accredit its own Remittance Sub-Agents (RSA). The RTC shall consider the accredited RSA as part of its network and shall be responsible for its compliance with laws, rules and regulations on anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism, customer data security and confidentiality, and consumer protection on RTC-related products and services. Moreover, Sections 602-P and 702-N of the MORNBFI, as amended by Circular No. 1048 dated 06 September 2019, requires RTCs to ensure that their consumers have a reasonable holistic understanding of the products and services which they may be acquiring or availing. In this context, full disclosure and utmost transparency, to the extent allowed under applicable laws and regulations, are the critical elements that empower the consumer to make comparisons and informed financial decisions. This is made possible by providing the consumer with ready access to information that accurately represents the nature and structure of the product or service, its terms and conditions, as well as its fundamental benefits and risks. In view of the foregoing, the RTCs shall implement measures to ensure that customers are adequately informed and protected when transacting with their accredited RSAs, including mechanisms to verify accredited RSAs and to lodge complaints for RSA-related transactions. To demonstrate adherence thereof, the following shall be observed: 1. The RTC shall be responsible for ensuring its accountability to the customer for all acts and omissions of its RSAs on RTC-related products and services.

2. In all advertising and marketing materials, terms and conditions on the services, and other forms of communication, it must be clear to the customer that the products and services being offered by the accredited RSAs are products and services of the RTC. 3. To facilitate easy identification of the RTC including its accredited RSAs and to protect the customer from transacting with unauthorized RSAs, the RTC shall: a. Provide a uniform affixed signage which should be noticeable and readable by the customers to be displayed conspicuously in the premises of the RTC offices including its RSAs indicating the following: i. The RTC is supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; ii. The RSA is an accredited RSA of the RTC; iii. Logo of the RTC; and iv. RTC’s customer care hotline, email address and other consumer assistance channels. The foregoing signage shall also appear in the website, and/or other media platforms of the cash agents. b. Publish on its website or in any other media platforms, an updated list of its offices and accredited RSA, including their complete registered business name, contact number(s)/details and respective location/address. 4. The RTC should establish a mechanism to escalate client complaints that are coursed through RSAs including the committed turn-around time to respond to its clients. The said escalation mechanism should be posted in the RTC’s website. For guidance and compliance. Digitally signed by Chuchi G. Fonacier Date: 2021.05.28 11:45:15 +08'00' CHUCHI G. FONACIER Deputy Governor 28 May 2021