SEC suspends Sumulong Financing’s license

​The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suspended the certificate of authority of Sumulong Financing Inc., doing business under the names GoPeso, Fast Peso and Fundly, to operate as a financing company for 60 days.

In an order dated August 1, the SEC Financing and Lending Companies Department (FinLend) directed Sumulong Financing to stop the operations of its online lending platform (OLP), Fundly, for failing to secure the requisite approval of its amended business plan.

The operation of the OLP constitutes a violation of SEC Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2022, which requires the prior approval of the Commission before a material change to a financing company’s business plan may be implemented.

“[T]he application to amend the business plan [of Sumulong Financing] is still under evaluation…and [the company] understands that it has not yet obtained the Commission’s approval. Therefore, the operation of the OLP ‘Fundly’ is a clear violation of MC [3],” the order read.

FinLend further found the company to have violated SEC Memorandum Circular No. 5, Series of 2023, which requires the inclusion of the contact information of the financial service provider’s internal complaints handling unit in its official communications materials.
In addition to the suspension of its financing license, FinLenD also imposed a penalty of P10,000 on the company.