BSP to phase out OTP use starting June 30

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to phase out the use of one-time passwords (OTP) beginning June 30.

According to the central bank, OTPs are often exploited in text hijacking and SIM-swapping schemes.

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Because of this, the BSP aims to prohibit financial institutions from using short message service (SMS) or email-based OTPs by the said date.

In line with the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), the move seeks to protect the public from various crimes such as phishing and SIM-swap fraud.

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As digital banking continues to expand, alternative security measures are being prepared to replace SMS or email-based OTPs.

These include in-app OTPs and push notifications, biometrics, behavioral biometrics, and silent authentication.