The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) uncovered the activity while reviewing payment patterns involving thousands of transactions worth as little as PHP 50 (US$0.80), Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan.

Many of the payments were made after midnight or during the early morning through merchants that appeared to operate ordinary businesses. Authorities later determined that the transactions were associated with online gaming activities.

According to the report, accounts associated with more than 8,000 merchants have since been closed over alleged unauthorised activities. Small local retailers were also among the businesses whose identities were reportedly used to receive payments.

The BSP has released a draft measure placing greater responsibility on payment service providers to screen the merchants they accept. Providers would be required to collect more information, including ownership details and business licences, and maintain databases of legitimate merchants.

The review also targets merchant aggregators, which act as intermediaries between payment providers and large numbers of smaller businesses. While this model has helped expand digital payments, it can make it more difficult to identify the ultimate recipient of a transaction.

“If there are unauthorised activities and you’re not able to stop them, then you are accountable,” Tangonan told Bloomberg.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman Alejandro Tengco said the regulator was aware that some seemingly legitimate businesses were operating unregistered online gaming platforms and was working with the BSP.

Digital payments accounted for about two-thirds of Philippine retail transactions in 2025, up from 57% in 2024 and 10% in 2018.