FINANCIAL consumer complaints surged by 72.6 percent last year amid wider use of digital financial services and awareness of avenues for redress, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
The central bank received and processed more than 120,000 new complaints through its Consumer Assistance Mechanism (CAM) last year, sharply higher than the 70,112 recorded in 2024 and the 19,181 posted in 2021.
“The upward trend reflects greater public awareness of the BSP’s CAM channels, wider adoption of digital platforms, and increased media attention on the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA) and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (Afasa),” the central bank said.
The BSP said its consumer protection agenda in 2025 included implementing rules for Afasa, enhancements to the BSP Online Buddy chatbot, stronger complaints reporting requirements for banks and intensified public communication programs.
Under Afasa, the BSP fast-tracked measures requiring banks and other BSP-supervised institutions to strengthen their fraud safeguards and improve their fraud detection, monitoring and response systems.
More disputes reach mediation
As the number of complaints received increased, more cases were also elevated to mediation.
The BSP said referrals for mediation rose 48.9 percent to 1,057 in 2025 from 710 in 2024. It handled 1,188 mediation cases during the year, including 131 cases carried over from 2024.
Of the 876 mediation cases concluded, 409 were successful, 144 failed and 323 were terminated for various reasons.
The mediation success rate, however, slid to 74 percent from 84.4 percent in 2024.
“This drop may be attributed to stronger consumer awareness of alternative remedies, such as adjudication or court action,” the central bank said.
In 2025, the BSP handled 68 formal adjudication complaints, including 12 cases carried over from the previous year. Of the cases, 11 were decided, 20 were dismissed and 37 remained pending as of Dec. 31, 2025.
