SEC shuts down Peso Flow lending operations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered online lending platform Peso Flow to halt its operations for offering unauthorized financing services and falsely presenting itself as an affiliate of a registered financing company, raising concerns over misleading lending practices that could expose borrowers to financial risks.

Citing a cease and desist order dated 30 October, the SEC said Tuesday that it directed Peso Flow and its operators to immediately stop all lending and financing activities for operating without the required regulatory authority.

The regulator also ordered the removal of Peso Flow’s website, digital platform, mobile applications, and social media accounts used to promote or facilitate financing services.

The crackdown followed a formal complaint from Sofi Financing Inc., which accused Peso Flow of using its corporate identity and falsely claiming an affiliation with the SEC-registered company.

Sofi Financing denied any connection with Peso Flow, clarifying that its official lending platform is Finbro.ph.

An investigation by the SEC’s Financing and Lending Companies Department found that Peso Flow had not secured a certificate of authority to operate as a financing company, as required under Republic Act No. 8556, or the Financing Company Act of 1998.

The SEC also found that Peso Flow and its operators were not authorized representatives, agents, service providers, or digital channels of Sofi Financing.

“Peso Flow and its representatives possess no demonstrated regulatory authority of their own, and they derive none from Sofi,” the SEC order read.

“The unauthorized use of another financing company’s corporate identity cannot supply what the law requires the Commission itself to grant. Regulatory authority is personal to the entity upon which it is conferred. It cannot be borrowed, appropriated, simulated, or manufactured through misrepresentation,” it added.

The order extends to Peso Flow’s owners, officers, representatives, service providers, and all individuals acting on its behalf, prohibiting them from engaging in unauthorized financing activities or claiming any connection with Sofi Financing.