The Philippine central bank calls on electronic payment providers to strengthen merchant vetting after it identifies thousands of illegal businesses using their platforms, including online casinos posing as ordinary retailers.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas says the crackdown is aimed at protecting consumers from online fraud and illegal activities, and also at preventing potential money laundering. The central bank notes that some unverified or improperly registered businesses appear under merchant categories such as beauty services and bakeries, while operating as prohibited or illicit gambling businesses.
Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post both report that the central bank’s message is directed at payment firms’ due diligence processes, rather than at consumers or individual platforms. Both outlets emphasize that providers are expected to review and validate merchants more carefully to reduce fraud risk and limit the misuse of payment channels.
While the outlets focus on the same central-bank warning, they differ in emphasis: Bloomberg frames the issue around providers’ need for better scrutiny, and South China Morning Post highlights the specific example of casinos masquerading as legitimate businesses.
