The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to accredit third-party collection agencies (TPCAs) under a draft memorandum circular. The proposal covers borrowers of financing and lending companies in the Philippines.
Under the draft, only TPCAs and the internal collection agents of financing and lending companies may engage in debt collection. The SEC said the guidelines would bring third-party debt collectors under its direct supervision and set uniform standards of conduct. The agency said this is meant to protect borrowers from abusive collection practices.
A TPCA would apply by filing an application through the SEC’s online system. Accredited agencies would be included in an SEC registry of TPCAs, published on the commission’s online database. Accreditation would be valid for three years.
The draft defines a TPCA as an SEC-registered stock corporation hired by financing and lending firms to recover debts. Renewal applications must be filed at least 30 days before expiry, with penalties for late filings.
A TPCA found to have engaged in unfair debt collection practices, including unlawful house visits and the use of system-generated or automated messages, may be fined from ₱60,000 to ₱200,000. On the fourth offense, the agency may be delisted and its accreditation revoked. Directors and officers of TPCAs involved in such practices may also be blacklisted.
Financing and lending companies face liability under the draft as well. Those that engage non-accredited or non-disclosed third-party agencies may be fined up to ₱2 million. On a fourth offense, the company’s certificate of authority may be suspended or revoked. In rare cases, its articles of incorporation may also be revoked.
Delisting may also result from serious or repeated rule violations, adverse administrative or criminal rulings, or voluntary withdrawal.
SEC Chair Francis Lim raised the plan earlier this year in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Inquirer reported that some lenders outsource collection to agents, many of whom shame or harass borrowers who cannot pay. “That’s why we will start the accreditation of collection companies,” Lim said.
SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18, Series of 2019, already prohibits unfair collection practices by financing and lending companies, including threats, violence and the disclosure of borrowers’ personal information. It also treats third-party service providers hired for collection as agents of the lenders.
The SEC has tightened other lending rules as well. A December 2025 order capped interest on loans of ₱10,000 or less at 6 percent a month, or 0.2 percent a day, starting April 1, 2026. It also limited late payment penalties to 5 percent a month of the outstanding balance.
The public may submit comments on the draft rules to the SEC until October 15.
