MANILA — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering lifting its moratorium on the registration of new online lending platforms (OLPs) operated by financing and lending companies (FLCs), the agency said.

In a statement, the SEC said the move is part of efforts to improve public access to credit while strengthening consumer protection measures in the lending industry.

On March 12, 2026, the SEC released a draft memorandum circular for public comment, outlining guidelines for lifting the moratorium and prescribing prudential, disclosure, and market conduct requirements for FLCs. Comments are open until March 25.

The moratorium has been in place since November 5, 2021, under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10, series of 2021. The proposed lifting seeks to promote responsible innovation, encourage economic activity, and align OLP operations with consumer protection, financial inclusion, and digitalization trends.

The draft rules also propose new capital requirements based on the number of OLPs a company operates. Financing companies without OLPs would maintain a minimum paid-up capital of PHP20 million, while lending companies would need PHP10 million. For FLCs operating multiple OLPs, capital requirements range from PHP30 million to PHP100 million for financing companies and PHP20 million to PHP50 million for lending companies, with a maximum of 10 OLPs per firm. Existing FLCs will have three years to comply under a “Capital Compliance Plan.”

The SEC also proposes a “Single Certificate of Authority (CA)” policy, meaning each FLC will hold only one CA covering its principal and branch offices. Branch-level annual fees will be replaced with an asset-based annual licensing fee ranging from 0.10% to 0.35% of total assets.

Consumer protection measures include strict prohibitions on accessing borrower contact lists or social media for debt collection, and limits on automated messages to neutral payment reminders. FLCs are also barred from outsourcing core lending functions to third parties.

All FLCs operating OLPs will be required to register with the Credit Information Corporation and use credit reports for risk assessment, in accordance with the Credit Information System Act (RA 9150).

“The use of such personal data for debt collection, borrower harassment, reputational pressure, or disclosure of a borrower’s indebtedness to third parties is strictly prohibited,” the SEC said.

The agency said the proposed guidelines aim to balance innovation in online lending with strong safeguards for consumers and market integrity.