Digital lender GoTyme Bank is streamlining account opening by integrating directly with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), allowing customers to open a bank account in as little as five minutes without uploading or scanning physical identification documents.
The bank said its partnership with the PSA makes it one of the first financial institutions in the country to achieve direct system-level integration with the National ID Authentication Services (NIDAS), enabling real-time identity verification using official government records.
The integration is designed to shorten one of the most time-consuming steps in digital onboarding: document verification.
Instead of submitting photos of government-issued IDs, prospective customers can verify their identity through any of three methods: scanning the QR code on their physical, digital or printed PhilSys ID, entering their PhilSys Card Number (PCN), or providing their name and date of birth linked to their PhilSys record.
By eliminating document capture, GoTyme Bank said customers can complete the account opening process in as little as five minutes while going through fewer verification steps.
“With our direct integration into the National ID Authentication Services, GoTyme Bank can verify a customer’s identity against official government records in real time, making account opening simpler, faster, and more secure,” said Shern Teo, chief strategy and proposition officer of GoTyme Bank.
“What this means is the ability to open a GoTyme Bank account in as little as five minutes, with fewer steps. We are simplifying banking and making it easier for more Filipinos to access the financial services they need,” Teo added.
The move comes as financial institutions continue to push digital onboarding to reach millions of Filipinos who remain outside the formal banking system.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data cited by the bank, roughly half of Filipino adults are still unbanked or underbanked, with the absence of verifiable identification remaining one of the biggest barriers to opening a bank account.
Although more than 94 million Filipinos have already registered with PhilSys, many applicants abandon digital account opening because they encounter difficulties during the ID upload and verification process.
GoTyme Bank said removing that step could help make banking more accessible, particularly for first-time account holders, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and residents of areas with limited access to physical bank branches.
Beyond improving customer convenience, the integration highlights the growing role of digital public infrastructure in expanding access to financial services.
Rather than serving solely as an accepted identification document, PhilSys can now function as a digital identity platform that enables faster and more seamless access to banking services through secure, real-time authentication.
For GoTyme Bank, the partnership represents another step toward reducing friction in digital banking while improving security and expanding financial inclusion through government-backed digital identity infrastructure.
(MAIN PHOTO (L-R): Maria Celeste D.L. Balanza – Chief Administrative Officer, Financial and Private Sector Use Cases Division (PhilSys), Marela Lovely Andres – Assistant National Statistician (PhilSys), Rosalinda Bautista – Assistant Secretary, Deputy National Statistician (PhilSys), Shern Whey Teo – Chief Strategy and Proposition Officer (GoTyme Bank), Maria Paz Gilda Puno – Chief Information Officer (GoTyme Bank), and Cathriona Nolan – Chief Marketing Officer (GoTyme Bank).)