In accordance with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) authority under Republic Act (RA) No. 11127 or the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA) to oversee payment systems in the Philippines, the Monetary Board has approved the issuance of BSP Circular No. 1049, Series of 2019, providing for the registration of operators of payment systems (OPS), as defined in the NPSA.
The Circular will also create the new Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems (MORPS), which will consolidate all relevant BSP issuances. It is a product of extensive consultations among private and public stakeholders in the payments industry, and is part of the phased-in implementation of the NPSA that prioritizes the creation of a baseline inventory of all OPS. Such inventory will be used as inputs in the crafting of rules and criteria for designating payment systems.
In keeping with the thrust of the BSP to promote ease of doing business, the Circular also provides a simplified registration process through self-assessment, streamlined list of documentary requirements, and descriptive examples-albeit not exhaustive-of activities that are akin to operating a payment system.
This streamlined registration aims to facilitate and encourage compliance of all concerned entities, particularly those previously unregulated non-financial institutions unfamiliar with regulatory compliance. Moreover, BSP registered/licensed institutions (e.g. banks, non-bank electronic money issuers), which are now considered as OPS under the NPSA, will only have to submit a Notification to the BSP.
