Philippines Freezes Payment Operators Amid Tightened VASP Controls

The Philippines' central bank has proposed a 12-month freeze on new payment-system operator registrations to conduct a 'holistic review' of its taxonomy and licensing framework.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will suspend acceptance and processing of applications for operators of payment systems (OPS), but those submitted before the suspension can continue to be evaluated. The regulator will not approve or deny any until the pause ends, and entities will be barred from starting activities that require OPS registration unless authorized otherwise.

The proposal would also impose tighter controls on payment arrangements involving virtual asset service providers (VASPs). BSP-supervised institutions offering merchant acquisition services would have to handle regulated VASPs through direct merchant arrangements, subject to enhanced due diligence and monitoring. Transaction and settlement limits and other risk-based controls would be required.