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Payment systems are essential to the effective functioning of financial systems worldwide. They provide the channels through which funds are transferred among banks and other institutions to discharge payment obligations arising from economic and financial transactions across the entire economy. An efficient, secure and reliable payment system reduces the cost of exchanging goods and services, and it is an essential tool for the effective implementation of monetary policy, and the smooth functioning of money and capital markets. It is this key role played by payment and settlement system (PSS) in the smooth functioning of an economy in general and its financial and monetary system in particular that gives the central bank (CB) a strong incentive for ensuring that an effective, reliable and secure payment and settlement system is in place.

In the Philippines, the BSP takes the lead in promoting an efficient payments and settlements system by providing:

  • a. the necessary infrastructure through the operations of the Peso Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System or the PhilPaSSplus; and
  • b. a policy and regulatory framework, also known as the National Retail Payment System or NRPS, to establish a safe, efficient and reliable retail payment system in the country.
 
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Roles of BSP

The BSP performs the following roles in the payments and settlements system:

  1. Operator of the Peso Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System known as the PhilPaSSplus
  2. Provider of credit facilities to banks as a lender of last resort
  3. Overseer of the payments and settlements system
  4. User of its own RTGS system
  5. Inititate changes/reforms for the payments system
 

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Laws and Regulations

 

Laws and regulations related to the operation of the Peso real-time gross settlement (RTGS) payment system

Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems (MORPS)

Laws and Regulations

Peso Real Time Gross Settlement Rules (RTGS Rules)

List of Operators of Designated Payment Systems

 
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National Payment Systems Act (NPSA)

 

Republic Act No. 11127, or the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA), provides a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework which supports the twin objectives of maintaining a payment system that is necessary to control systemic risk and providing an environment conducive to the sustainable growth of the economy.

A payment system provides the channels through which funds are transferred among banks and other institutions to discharge payment obligations arising from economic and financial transactions across the entire economy. An efficient, secure and reliable payment system reduces the cost of exchanging goods and services. It is an essential tool for the effective implementation of monetary policy, and the smooth functioning of money and capital markets.

The NPSA mandates the BSP to oversee payment systems in the Philippines and exercise supervisory and regulatory powers for the purpose of ensuring the stability and effectiveness of the monetary and financial system.

Payment System Oversight Framework (Circular No. 1089)
Online Registration of Operators of Payment Systems (OPS)
Form 1 of BSP Circular No. 1049
List of OPS with Certificate of Registration (COR)
Draft Policy Exposure

Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures

 

The Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMIs) were established as a result of the joint efforts of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - Technical Staff of the Committee on Payment and Settlement System (CPSS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to strengthen core financial infrastructures and markets. The principles in three (3) sets of standards: 10 Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems, 19 Recommendations for Securities Settlement (RSSS), and 15 Recommendations for Central Counterparties (RCCP) were harmonized to come up with a single set of standards that will cover all relevant financial market infrastructures: payment systems, central securities depositories, central counterparties ad trade repositories.

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Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System: PhilPaSSplus

The PhilPaSSplus is the lone Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system in the Philippines, owned and operated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in accordance with its authority under the National Payment Systems Act. An RTGS system provides instant settlement of payments, transfer instructions, or other obligations individually on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Read more...

The PhilPaSSplus Primer (PDF, PPSX)

What is PhilPaSSplus ? (YouTube)

Application Requirements

(For Participants with Settlement Accounts, such as banks, non-bank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions, and non-bank electronic money issuers)
 

General requirements  

Additional requirements
  • Channel Registration Form (for applicants intending to use SWIFT or the VPN-STP payment messaging channel)
  • SWIFT-issued Business Identifier Code (BIC) (for applicants intending to use SWIFT)
  • Certificate of Authority to Operate (for applicant Digital Banks)
  • Endorsement from the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (for applicant Non-Bank Electronic Money Issuers)
  • Summary Statement Form (for electronic submission of documents)
  • Other supporting documents that may be required by the Bangko Sentral
 

Mode of Submission (choose one)
  • Submission of original copies of application documents to:

    The Director
    Payments and Settlements Department (PSD)
    Room 101, 5-Storey Building
    Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
    A. Mabini Street, Malate, 1004 Manila

  • Electronic submission of scanned copies of application documents

    • accompanied by a duly accomplished Summary Statement Form (SSF) and each page of application documents, including the SSF, must be certified by the applicant’s authorized officer
    • emailed with a subject in this format: <Application> underscore<RTGSPS> underscore<Applicant’s Acronym> underscore<type of submission>
    • sent by a registered email sender to the Director, PSD at RTGS@bsp.gov.ph
 

Link 1: Annex 1 of the Peso RTGS Rules - Participation Requirements and Procedure

List of PhilPaSSplus Direct Participants

 

PhilPaSSplus Statistics

 

National Retail Payment System

The National Retail Payment System or NRPS is a policy and regulatory framework that aims to provide policy direction in carrying out retail payment activities through BSP supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) by defining high-level policies, principles, and standards, which when adopted, would lead to the establishment of a safe, efficient and reliable retail payment system.

Observance of the principles and standards result to: safety by ensuring the security of transactions and activities performed in the country’s retail payment system; and reliability by ensuring resiliency of operations against disruptive events. Efficiency in retail payments, on the other hand, is essentially about speed, convenience and affordability, which can clearly be supported by a shift to electronic payments. Thus, a key outcome of the NRPS is to increase adoption of electronic retail payments from 1% electronic payments in 2013 to 20% electronic payments by 2020. Read more...

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