Apple Pay, Google Pay exploring Philippine market —BSP

Apple Pay and Google Pay are currently exploring offering their services to the Philippine market but will have to first secure registration with the central bank as operators of payment systems (OPS), a top official of the central bank said.

According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) deputy governor Mamerto Tangonan, the central bank has already had meetings with representatives of the service providers which are yet to be available in the Philippines.

“They’re exploring, and then we had a discussion on their activities and then it was clear to us that they are — when you touch the payment system, you are an operator of payment systems,” he told reporters in an interview.

“You perform such things so because of that, we deem them as operator of payment systems. Therefore, they need to register. ‘Yun ang guidance namin sa kanila (That is our guidance to them),” he added.

The BSP defines an operator as any person — both natural and juridical persons and all types of business organizations — who provides clearing or settlement services in a payment system, or defines, prescribes, designs, controls, or maintains the operational framework for the system.

Entities that are identified to perform OPS activities are required to register with the BSP, in line with the National Payments Systems Act (NPSA).

Tangonan said that to his knowledge, the two firms have yet to formally apply for registration with the central bank, a process which could take a month before the services can be made available to the public.

“From their responses to us, the way they explain, it’s clear to us that they touch the payment system. They perform something, so therefore operator sila (they are operators),” Tangonan said.

Both Apple Pay and Google Pay allow users to make financial transactions through near-field communication (NFC) devices, enabling users to tap their smartphones or watches to make payments with their linked debit or credit cards and e-money accounts.

“We don’t license them. We just require registration. They can provide the service (once they’re registered),” Tangonan said.

With the OPS registration being the only requirement, Tangonan was asked why the service providers have yet to file applications.

“You’d have to ask them. Malay mo ginagawa na nila (You never know, maybe they are already doing it.)”

The BSP earlier reported that digital payments accounted for 52.8% of retail payment transactions in 2023, higher than its 50% goal under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2018-2023, and 42.1% in the previous year.—AOL, GMA Integrated News