The Central Bank of the Philippines plans to suspend new registrations of payment system operators for 12 months and tighten regulation

The Central Bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, plans to suspend the processing and acceptance of payment system operator OPS new registration applications for 12 months to review relevant classification and licensing frameworks. If a merchant acquiring institution regulated by BSP serves regulated virtual asset service providers VASPs, it must arrange cooperation through direct merchant arrangements and implement control measures such as enhanced due diligence, continuous monitoring, transaction and settlement limits. Relevant VASPs must obtain licenses, registrations, or authorizations from BSP, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, or other institutions. If approved, the draft will take effect 15 days after its release, and BSP is currently soliciting opinions.