Fraud in Philippine financial services is becoming more complex and harder to detect. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s State of Scams in the Philippines 2025, 65% of Filipinos report being scammed, with 74% involving digital payments or e-wallets. As fraud evolves into coordinated, technology-driven attacks, its scale and sophistication continues to grow.
What is AFASA?
In response to the heightened fraud incidents, the Philippines introduced the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) under Republic Act No. 12010, a regulatory framework that holds financial institutions accountable for detecting, preventing, and responding to fraudulent activities across customer accounts and digital channels.
This regulation is supported by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) guidelines that translate policy into operational and technology requirements for BSP-supervised institutions. Its primary goal is to protect consumers while strengthening institutional resilience against fraud.
BSP Regulations Supporting AFASA
The law is reinforced by key BSP circulars that guide financial institutions:
- BSP Circular No. 1213, which strengthens information technology risk management and requires real-time fraud monitoring and detection capabilities
- BSP Circular No. 1214, which enhances consumer protection standards and accountability in handling fraud incidents
- BSP Circular No. 1215, which outlines operational and compliance expectations for implementing fraud prevention measures
Together, these circulars provide a structured approach to fraud prevention and regulatory compliance in the Philippines.
What Financial Institutions Must Do
To meet regulatory expectations, financial institutions must strengthen three critical capabilities:
Stronger Digital Identity and Verification
AFASA emphasizes the importance of secure and reliable identity verification processes:
- Accurate customer identity validation during onboarding
- Protection against identity fraud and account takeovers
- Continuous authentication throughout the customer lifecycle
This often involves moving beyond SMS or email OTPs toward biometric authentication, liveness detection, and in-app, behavioral, multi-factor authentication, and stand alone authentication app.
Real-time Fraud Detection and Monitoring
Institutions are expected to implement systems that can:
- Continuously monitor transactions and user behavior
- Detect anomalies and suspicious patterns in real time
- Trigger immediate alerts and interventions
This represents a shift from periodic checks to always-on fraud intelligence.
Faster Incident Response and Accountability
Financial institutions must be able to:
- Act quickly on reported fraud cases
- Coordinate across internal teams and external stakeholders
- Maintain clear audit trails and reporting mechanisms
The goal is not only prevention but also rapid containment and resolution.
How Financial Institutions Can Prepare
With the June 2026 deadline approaching, financial institutions should assess their readiness across:
- Technology readiness for real-time fraud detection
- Process automation for fraud monitoring and response
- Data visibility across customer transactions and behavior
- Operational capability of fraud and risk teams
A comprehensive readiness assessment can help institutions identify gaps and prioritize improvements.
Enabling AFASA Readiness with Exist
As financial institutions prepare for compliance, the need for a trusted technology partner becomes critical.
Exist supports banks and financial institutions through:
- AI-Powered Fraud Detection
Real-time monitoring and intelligent anomaly detection to identify suspicious activities before they escalate - Digital Identity and Verification
Advanced identity solutions, including biometric authentication, designed to strengthen onboarding and account security - In-app One-time Password (OTP)
Secure transaction authentication through in-app OTP delivery, avoiding exposure to SIM swap and phishing attacks - Seamless Integration
Flexible integration with core banking systems, digital channels, and third-party platforms
Beyond compliance, Exist enables institutions to build resilient, scalable, and future-ready fraud prevention ecosystems.
Learn more about Exist’s Banking and Financial Solutions here.
Preparing for a More Secure Financial Future
Is your institution ready for AFASA? Start with a readiness assessment to identify gaps in your fraud detection and digital identity capabilities and take the first step toward compliance and resilience.
