BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno urged the public to only transact with registered operators of payments systems to ensure the security of the process.
In a message to reporters on Monday, Diokno reminded the public to deal with, entertain product offerings or carry out financial transactions only with BSP-registered Operators of Payment Systems (OPS).
Under BSP regulations, OPS include cash-in service providers, bills payment service providers and entities such as payment gateways, platform providers, payment facilitators and merchant acquirers that enable sellers of goods and services to accept payments, in cash or digital form.
At present, there are 150 OPS registered with the BSP. A list of OPS with Certificate of Registration could be found on the BSP website.
Registration of a payment system operator allows the BSP to have oversight of the payment system it operates. This ensures that the OPS functions safely, efficiently, and reliably by itself and in relation to the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA) or Republic Act 11127, consistent with the central bank’s objectives of consumer protection and financial stability.
All OPS must register with the BSP pursuant to Circular 1049 which provides for the Rules and Regulations on the Registration of Operators of Payment Systems under the NPSA.
The NPSA is a landmark legislation that supports the performance by the Bangko Sentral of its mandate relating to the third pillar of central banking – the maintenance of safe, efficient and reliable payment and settlement systems.
The NPSA grants the BSP oversight authority over all payment systems in the Philippines and authorizes it to exercise supervisory and regulatory powers for the purpose of ensuring the stability and effectiveness of the monetary and financial system.
“Thus, the BSP in the exercise of its powers will cover all institutions that perform operator functions relative to a payment system which may include institutions not currently supervised by the BSP,” the FAQ document on OPS registration said. “Independent ATM Deployers, Bayad Centers/bill payment aggregators, online merchants/billers and payment gateways may be part of the scope if they perform operator functions relative to a payment system.”