BSP makes registration of payment system operators simple

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has simplified the registration process for payment systems operators in line with the broader goal of making it easier to do business in the country.

The policy-setting Monetary Board has approved BSP Circular No. 1049 series of 2019, providing for 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.”

The issuance is in accordance with the BSP’s mandate to oversee payment systems in the Philippines under the Republic Act No. 11127 or the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA), the central bank said Friday.

Simplifying the registration process is in line with the central bank’s thrust to promote ease of doing business in the country.

Streamlining the process aims to facilitate and encourage compliance of all payment systems operators, particularly the previously unregulated non-financial institutions unfamiliar with regulatory compliance.

Central bank registered or licensed institutions such as banks, non-bank electronic money issuers, now considered as payment systems operators will only have to notify the BSP.

Circular 1049 will also create a new Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems (MORPS), consolidating 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 operators of payment systems,” the BSP said.

“Such inventory will be used as inputs in the crafting of rules and criteria for designating payment systems.”

The BSP said it will continue to engage the payments industry stakeholders throughout the phased-in implementation of the NPSA. —Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News