SEC issues guidelines for new online lending platforms

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March 13, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pushing through with its plan to lift the moratorium on the registration of new online lending platforms (OLPs), while also enhancing regulatory safeguards and supervisory requirements.

The commission issued yesterday for public comments its draft guidelines that prescribe prudential, disclosure and market conduct requirements for financing and lending companies.

The proposed guidelines are intended to formally lift and supersede SEC Memorandum Circular 10, Series of 2021 (MC 10), which will allow financing and lending firms to disclose and operate OLPs, subject to enhanced regulatory safeguards and supervisory requirements.

In November 2021, the SEC issued MC 10, imposing a moratorium on the recording of new OLPs, which likewise applied to existing financing and lending companies operating such platforms.

“The commission recognizes the need to lift the moratorium imposed under MC 10 in order to promote responsible innovation, stimulate economic activity among financing and lending companies, and ensure that the operation of OLPs is aligned with consumer protection, market integrity, prudential objectives, financial inclusion, ease of market access and alignment with the global trend of digitalization,” the SEC said.

The draft circular also seeks to prescribe the documentary requirements, process, qualifications and regulatory standards applicable to financing and lending companies in relation to the disclosure and operation of their respective OLPs.

The SEC, however, said the planned lifting of the moratorium should not be construed as an automatic or unconditional approval of any OLP, with all financing and lending companies, whether existing or newly incorporated, to remain subject to the disclosure, minimum paid-up capital, operational, consumer protection and supervisory requirements prescribed under the proposed circular as well as other applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Under the proposed guidelines, each financing or lending firm will be issued only one certificate of authority, covering the principal office and all branch offices of the entity. Separate certificates of authority per branch office will no longer be issued.

The draft circular also introduces a graduated, asset-based annual licensing fee (ALF) computed from the company’s latest due audited financial statements filed with the commission.

The revised ALF structure removes branch-level licensing fees, adopts an entity-level licensing framework and standardizes the payment deadline to Dec. 31 of each year.

The revised ALF rates will apply starting Jan. 1, 2027, based on the circular.

Financing and lending firms will likewise be required to submit a pre-disclosure classification declaration prior to deploying a digital platform to determine if the proposed platform qualifies as an OLP.

Further, the draft circular prescribes minimum paid-up capital requirements for financing and lending companies as well as for those that intend to operate OLPs.

The SEC said the required capital is proportionate to the number of OLPs they will operate.

For instance, financing companies that do not operate any OLP will maintain at all times a minimum paid-up capital of P20 million, while lending firms must maintain P10 million.

Meanwhile, any financing or lending company seeking to own, operate, control or utilize one or more OLPs must possess and maintain the total minimum paid-up capital corresponding to the number of OLPs.

For one OLP for a financing company, the required paid-up capital is P30 million, while it is P60 million for two to five OLPs. The required paid-up capital for maximum of 10 OLPs is P100 million.

For a lending company, one OLP requires a paid-up capital of P20 million, P30 million for two to five OLPs and P50 million for maximum of 10 OLPs.

The proposed guidelines state that in no case shall any financing or lending company be allowed to own, operate, control or utilize more than 10 OLPs, regardless of capital level.

The grant of authority to operate multiple OLPs will remain subject to the SEC’s prudential evaluation of capital adequacy, risk profile, governance structure, compliance history and operational capacity.

Existing financing and lending companies are granted a three-year transition period to comply with the revised paid-up capital requirements, while affected entities will be required to submit a capital compliance plan within 60 days from the effectivity of the circular.