AS THE registration of business names goes online, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 sees bright prospects in profiling the businesses in Cebu.
Marivic Aguilar, DTI-Cebu provincial office chief for small and medium enterprise development division, told SunStar Cebu that the roll-out of online business name (BN) registration is now serving a lot entrepreneurs.
“We now regularly serve 100 to 150 business owners regularly in our teller transactions,” she said.
However, she said there are still some business owners who choose to physically pay at the teller instead of paying through its third-party digital payment option, GCash.
“There are some who need to learn what GCash is and we guide them. They’re also unfamiliar but there are also those who are open and would even download the mobile app,” she said.
Aguilar added plans are underway to expand payment options, especially now that people are doing transactions through their mobile phones.
“Most of the people now have mobile phones so it’s easier to pay via GCash,” she said.
Aguilar said DTI is also adjusting to the new BN registration system since all processes will be coursed through there.
“We’re dependent on the combination of the internet speed and the system. Both have to work. The internet connectivity should be stable and the system should also be working properly,” she said.
Based on the records of the DTI 7, there were 12,592 business names that were recorded in Cebu from January to May 2019, up by 44 percent compared to 8,751 business names that were registered in the same period in 2018.
Aguilar said the numbers reflect Cebu’s thriving business landscape as entrepreneurs continue to expand or venture into new businesses.
“If you’re going to base it on the number of entities that registered, it’s a good indicator,” she said.
Since its implementation on May 20, DTI 7 has been pushing entrepreneurs to transact online, from registering their business name to printing their own certificate. JOB