Philippines Proposes 12-Month Freeze on Payment-System Operator Registrations

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, has proposed a 12-month freeze on new payment-system operator registrations. The move aims to conduct a 'holistic review' of its taxonomy and licensing framework.

The BSP will suspend acceptance and processing of applications for operators of payment systems (OPS) while this review takes place. Applications submitted before the suspension can continue to be evaluated, but approval or denial will not occur until the pause ends.

BSP-supervised institutions offering merchant acquisition services will need to handle regulated VASPs through direct merchant arrangements. These relationships would be subject to enhanced due diligence and monitoring, transaction and settlement limits, and other risk-based controls.