House deputy minority leader Bernadette Herrera on Wednesday pushed for a congressional inquiry into the <a href="https://www.dzrh.com.ph/post/gcash-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alleged unauthorized cash transfer </a>from Globe Inc.'s popular digital e-wallet GCash to other banks.
In filing House Resolution No. 963, Herrera pointed out that the lower house has the duty to "protect the interests and welfare of the Filipino people and ensure that digital platforms like GCash operate within the bounds of the law."
The Congresswoman also seeks to probe the impact of the issue on the affected GCash users, including the extent of the deductions and the number of accounts involved.
Earlier this week, some users reported that their GCash accounts were hacked as their money was allegedly transferred to East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) and Asia United Bank (AUB) without any notification of a One-time password (OTP) and Mobile Personal Identification Number (MPIN).
The popular digital platform then apologized to all GCash users for the inconvenience, and it immediately adjusted the funds deducted from their electronic wallets.
GCash assured that no hacking had occurred and said that an independent investigation has been initiated.
According to Herrera, the House inquiry should be attended by the officials of GCash, G-Xchange Inc., Mynt, Globe Telecom Inc., Ayala Corp., and Ant Financial who will "provide an explanation on the nature, scope, and cause of the unauthorized deductions, as well as their plans to address the issue and prevent its recurrence."
She said representatives from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) should also be invited to learn about their plans for regulating digital payment platforms.
Herrera also urged the House panel to explore legislative measures "that will strengthen the safeguards and protections for GCash users and other digital payment platform users against unauthorized deductions and other forms of fraud or abuse."
The Congresswoman further said that GCash and its parent company Mynt should submit the progress of their probe as well as the action they have taken to address the issue and to thwart its repetition.

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House inquiry on alleged unauthorized GCash transaction pushed