Several financial institutions now offering fully online process to open PERA

SEVERAL financial institutions are now offering a fully online application process for opening a Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) open finance pilot, making the voluntary retirement saving and investment program more accessible.

In a statement on Thursday, the central bank said customers of G-Xchange, Inc., the operator of e-wallet GCash, Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP), Philippine National Bank (PNB), and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) who tap ATRAM Trust Corp. as their PERA administrator can open accounts digitally.

Previously, opening a PERA required customers to fill out forms manually and submit supporting documents such as identification cards to PERA administrators.

“By participating in the project, G-Xchange, UBP, PNB, and RCBC can now securely share customer information — with the customer’s consent — to ATRAM,” the BSP said.

“Customers only need to register with ATRAM and open a PERA account via ATRAM’s online platform.”

UnionBank clients can also apply through ATRAM using the bank’s mobile application, it added.

“The BSP continues to work with financial institutions to further expand the network and ensure that a seamless and secure retirement planning ecosystem is within reach of every Filipino,” the central bank said.

PERA, created under Republic Act No. 9505 in 2016, is a voluntary retirement saving program which supplements benefits from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and employer-provided plans.

The BSP launched the Open Finance for PERA Pilot in July last year to encourage more Filipinos to open accounts by streamlining the onboarding process as well as improving access to the program.

This initiative leverages the BSP’s Open Finance framework, which allows secure, consent-based sharing of customers’ financial data across institutions, for increased choices and convenience.

Contributors aged 18 and above with a tax identification number are allowed to open a PERA. Self-employed and locally employed contributors may contribute P200,000 annually, while overseas Filipino workers may invest up to P400,000. The PERA Law also offers incentives to contributors, such as tax exemptions and credits.

The latest BSP data showed that accumulated PERA contributions reached P571.08 million at end-September 2025, rising by 21.34% year on year from P470.63 million. Bulk of these came from employee contributions (P396.54 million).

Meanwhile, the total number of PERA contributors also went up to 6,334 in the same period from 5,774 a year prior. — Katherine K. Chan