Online Gambling Payments Were Disguised as Salon and Bakery Sales

OAKLAND PARK, Fla (Gambling911.com) -  The Philippines shut down more than 8000 merchant accounts after it was revealed that online gambling firms were disguising transactions as ordinary non-gambling businesses, including beauty salons and bakeries.  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas discovered thousands of such accounts.

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The Philippine central bank made it clear that electronic payment providers need to be more diligent in vetting companies that use their platforms.

“We want to protect consumers from online fraud, illegal activities and also from money launderers,” deputy governor Mamerto Tangonan said in an interview. “You cannot expand digitalisation if people’s money is being stolen or they’re being scammed.” 

Alarm bells starting ringing for the central bank after surveillance discovered many merchants, which on paper were unremarkable, were accepting thousands of payments of as little as 50 pesos (S$1) past midnight and into the early hours of the morning, according to Tangonan, according to the Strait Times. 

Mom-and-pop stores were also among the enterprises used by over 8,000 merchants whose accounts have now been shuttered for allegedly illegal activities.

e-Payments companies often need to use intermediaries, called merchant aggregators, as a means of helping them aggressively expand their business.