Philippines Proposes Payment Registration Pause, VASP Curbs

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has proposed a 12-month suspension on accepting and processing applications to register as an operator of a payment system while it reviews its OPS taxonomy and licensing framework. The measure remains a draft and would not impose an immediate registration freeze until the circular takes effect.

The proposal would also require regulated virtual asset service providers to be handled through direct merchant arrangements when BSP-supervised institutions provide merchant acquisition services. VASPs would face enhanced due diligence, monitoring, transaction and settlement limits, and other risk-based controls, with the rule covering virtual asset firms requiring authorization from the BSP, Securities and Exchange Commission or another competent authority.

Applications received before the suspension begins could still be evaluated, but the BSP would neither approve nor deny them until the pause is lifted. The next step is finalization of the draft circular, which would take effect 15 calendar days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation; existing layered merchant relationships would also enter phased compliance reviews.

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