Securities and Exchange Commission (Philippines) in Iloilo City, Western Visayas

The SEC publishes a public-facing list of lending and financing companies that hold a Certificate of Authority under RA 9474 and RA 8556. Borrowers can verify whether a counterparty is a registered entity before transacting, and complaint guides cite this list to support the threshold question of 'is this lender SEC-authorised?' Operating without inclusion on this list, or operating an Online Lending Platform not disclosed to the SEC under MC No. 19 (2019), is the basis for cease-and-desist orders.

The SEC operates the I-Message Mo portal (imessage.sec.gov.ph), which accepts complaints against SEC-regulated lenders, financing companies, and online lending platforms; complaints are handled by the Financing and Lending Companies Department (FLCD). The portal is the SEC analogue of BSP's Consumer Assistance Mechanism for non-bank lenders, and is the recommended escalation channel after the consumer has attempted resolution with the company.

The SEC publishes its issued cease-and-desist orders (CDOs) on a single index page, including orders against unregistered online lending platforms, unauthorised financing companies, and entities operating in violation of RA 9474, RA 8556 and MC No. 19. Borrowers and complainants reference this index to establish a counterparty's regulatory status and to cite past SEC findings in complaint letters and small-claims pleadings.

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 19, Series of 2019, requires every financing or lending company operating an Online Lending Platform (OLP) to disclose to the SEC and to the borrower the names and details of all OLPs it operates, all third-party service providers, and the data the platform collects from users. It mandates that the SEC's authority to operate be reflected in app-store listings and on the platform itself, and forms the disclosure backbone of subsequent SEC enforcement against unregistered or undisclosed OLPs.

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18, Series of 2019, governs how financing companies (FCs), lending companies (LCs) and the third-party service providers they hire may collect. Section 1 permits all reasonable and legally permissible means, then enumerates eight practices that are unfair: threats of violence; threats to take action that cannot legally be taken; obscenities whose natural consequence is to abuse the borrower; disclosure or publication of borrowers' names and personal information; communicating loan information known to be false — including FAILING TO SAY THE DEBT IS DISPUTED; false representation or deceptive means; contact before 6:00 A.M. or after 10:00 P.M. unless the account is past due more than FIFTEEN days or the borrower consented; and, notwithstanding the borrower's consent, contacting persons in the borrower's contact list other than named guarantors or co-makers. Section 2 makes borrower data strictly confidential subject to a closed list of six exceptions. Section 3 makes a collection agency the FC/LC's agent and leaves ultimate responsibility with the FC/LC. Section 4 requires collectors to disclose their true identity. Section 5 sets the penalties — for a financing company ₱50,000, ₱100,000, then up to ₱1,000,000 or 60-day suspension or revocation of the Certificate of Authority — counted per loan transaction per complainant, and payable to the Commission rather than to the complainant.