4Ps’ Cash Cards To Be Unlocked For More Transactions

Written by Marc Adrian

Families receiving conditional cash transfers from the government may find more uses for their cash cards by August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno announced that work is underway to allow additional features on the cash cards held by some 4 million families in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), making it work more like an actual bank account.

At the moment, these cash cards can only do one-way fund transfer, which is solely the transfers made from the government. With their upcoming plan to open up these cards, transactions such as online fund transfers to another account and bills payment online or through an app will be possible. 

Diokno said in a virtual media briefing on Thursday:

The conversion from cash card into interoperable accounts will allow millions of 4Ps beneficiaries to receive funds from other sources, such as their families, friends, local government units, and others just like any account.

According to BSP’s most recent (2017) data, more than 60 percent of Filipinos remain unbanked. The central bank has been actively pushing for increased digital payments and transactions especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the need for human contact. 

The BSP’s goal is to migrate 50 percent of all cash and check transactions to digital platforms by 2023.  The BSP has stressed that online fund transfers and payments are more efficient in terms of logistics and transmit money faster with lower costs.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology(DICT)  earlier announced plans to transfer the second tranche of the government’s cash aid program to select beneficiaries online via the ReliefAgad mobile application created for this purpose.

In the second month of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), low-income families residing in areas under ECQ will be receiving cash aid assistance worth of  ₱5,000 to ₱8,000. Meanwhile, other eligible beneficiaries of the (SAP) can now choose to receive their money through GCash, PayMaya, their bank account, or in cash. 

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