BSP Issues Voluntary AI Guidelines for Banks and E-Wallets on July 14

According to Rappler, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued voluntary AI guidelines on Tuesday, July 14, setting minimum supervisory expectations for banks, e-wallet operators, and other supervised financial institutions. The memorandum, No. M-2026-031, introduces five governance principles summarized as STARS: sustainability, transparency, accountability, responsibility, and security.

Key requirements include mandatory notification when AI output influences loan decisions or product recommendations, and maintaining human oversight. While AI systems may recommend approval or rejection of loan applications, the BSP emphasizes that humans remain ultimately accountable for final decisions and cannot delegate responsibility to machines. Institutions must also safeguard against bias in training data and monitor AI systems to prevent unfair exclusion of low-income borrowers, minorities, or vulnerable groups. The guidelines are non-binding; the BSP indicated it may introduce stricter enforceable rules in the future.