BSP to release national standard for QR transactions in Q3

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday said it plans to release by the third quarter a framework which would serve as the national standard for quick response (QR) transactions across the country.

According to BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier, the central bank is now pushing for one unified standard for the interoperability of QR transactions.

"We're now working with the industry on a national standard. We should only have one national standard. It's coming up in the third quarter," she said on the Bloomberg Industry 4.0 Forum in Taguig City.

"We're really pushing for interoperability. It should be easy to have one national standard for QR. That will enable a lot of transactions, even the farthest area in the Philippines," added Fonacier.

The planned framework is seen to push for interoperability of QR transactions, possibly including transactions between banks and non-banks.

In response, Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, who said that the planned framework will enable competitors to open up their networks to each other.

"If it goes the way I think, it just opens up to everybody what we have and they open up what they have to us," he told reporters on the sidelines of the forum.

Globe, through its unit Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), is involved in financial services such as payments, remittances, loans, business solutions, and platforms.

In 2017, Ant Financial Services Group, the financial technology company controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, acquired some 45% to accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines.

Its competitor, Voyager Innovations Inc., last year welcomed Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited as a significant shareholder in the company.

Voyager is involved in financial technology through units such as PayMaya, freenet, Lendr, KasamaKA, and Smart Padala. — RSJ, GMA News