BSP Proposes 12-Month Pause on Payment-System Operator Registrations
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has proposed a temporary pause on new registrations for payment-system operators to review its licensing and taxonomy framework. The BSP wants to give itself time to holistically review how it licenses and oversees payment systems.
Under the proposal, the BSP would suspend the acceptance and processing of applications from entities seeking to operate payment systems for 12 months. Applications already submitted before the suspension would still be assessed but not approved or denied until the pause period ends.
The stricter requirements would apply to VASPs licensed, registered, or authorized by the BSP, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or another relevant authority. The draft proposes that banks and BSP-supervised institutions offering merchant acquisition services would have to route merchant relationships with regulated VASPs through direct arrangements with added risk controls.
The proposed 12-month halt aims at revising the regulator’s framework for payment systems, not immediately denying new entrants. Entities would not be allowed to start activities that require OPS registration unless the BSP grants authorization outside the standard process.