PSA Pushes for Use of National ID Authentication to Strengthen Identity Verification in Financial Transactions

AUB’s HelloMoney utilizes the National ID authentication services for account opening.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said identity verification through the National ID can be adopted as a stronger authentication method for financial transactions.

“Adopting the National ID authentication services means moving past traditional methods of identity verification such as one-time passwords (OTPs) and shifting to something more reliable—the unique biometrics of an individual,” said PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, PhD, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

“Through the authentication services, both financial institutions and the public can rely on the National ID to make transactions more secure,” Usec. Mapa added.

Unlike other valid IDs, the National ID has authentication services that feature facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. For financial institutions that have integrated with the National ID, this means that the identity of the clients can be verified through their unique biometrics, as opposed to OTPs which are vulnerable to phishing and SIM-swapping attacks.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have cited the National ID's use of facial recognition and urged banks to adopt such identity verification method to strengthen consumer protection and fight fraud, in line with the goal of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act in ‘promoting and maintaining a stable and efficient financial system’ and ‘to protect all persons from cybercrime schemes.’

HelloMoney, the mobile wallet service of Asia United Bank (AUB), is among the financial institutions already utilizing the National ID authentication services.

AUB Chief Compliance Officer Claire dela Rosa noted that it helped them comply with regulations, including customer due diligence—the process of collecting and verifying information about a customer or potential customer—while speeding up the onboarding process.

"The onboarding process [at HelloMoney] is all digital. The client can open an account using the app itself. However, we are required by BSP to do validation [or] customer due diligence. At that rate, we still have backend person support to do validation and they’re the person that will approve such application," she said.

"With this e-verification [through] National ID, nabawasan ‘yong kanilang verification process. This time around, they don’t need to verify the ID, because it’s already verified from the start," she added.

From September 2024 to April 2025, AUB’s HelloMoney app has onboarded 169,847 Filipinos whose identities were verified through the National ID authentication services.

GCash, also a mobile wallet service, utilizes the National ID authentication services for account opening and verification. G-Xchange Inc. Vice President for Customer Experience Joanne Avendano described the National ID as a ‘reliable and trusted source of data’.
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“The National ID has definitely helped GCash in streamlining its onboarding process and providing a reliable and trusted source of data,” said G-Xchange Inc. Vice President for Customer Experience Joanne Avendano. 

To date, about 56 percent of GCash users who opened accounts have utilized the National ID for verification.

Assistant Secretary Rosalinda P. Bautista, Deputy National Statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office, encouraged financial institutions to partner with the PSA and adopt the National ID authentication services.

“We call on all relying parties in the financial sector to maximize the authentication services of the National ID as it makes transactions more secure and ensures regulatory compliance,” said Asec. Bautista.

Financial institutions interested in partnering or onboarding with the National ID system may reach the PSA through email via [email protected].