PESONet, InstaPay designated as Prominently Important Payment Systems —BSP

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-setting Monetary Board has approved the designation of PESONet and InstaPay as Prominently Important Payment Systems (PIPS).

In a statement on Thursday, the BSP said the designation of PESONet and InstaPay as PIPS was pursuant to the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA).

The NPSA provides that the central bank, as regulator of payment systems, has the authority to designate a payment system if it determines the payment system as posing or having the potential to pose systemic risk or the designation is necessary to protect public interest.

The BSP said that under the Payment System Oversight Framework, PIPS refers to a payment system “which may not trigger or transmit systemic risk, but could potentially cause adverse economic impacts or undermine the confidence of the public in the national payment system or in the circulation of money.”

The designation of PESONet and InstaPay as PIPS would subject them to closer BSP supervision and monitoring to protect the public, it said.

The BSP launched InstaPay in April 2018, an electronic fund transfer (EFT) payment system that enables individuals to wire funds across banks in real-time.

Meanwhile, PESONet was launched in 2017, enabling the government, businesses, and individuals to initiate electronic fund transfers and recurring payments in financial institutions supervised by the central bank within the same banking day.

“The designation of PESONet and InstaPay as PIPS is considered timely, as these payment systems will facilitate the launch of other use cases for digital transactions, such as interoperable bills payments and direct debits,” said BSP Governor Felipe Medalla.

“This further promotes consumer welfare as we continue making progress toward the BSP’s objective of reaching 50% digital payments by 2023,” said Medalla.

The BSP said the usage of PESONet and InstaPay grew significantly during the pandemic.

PESONet and InstaPay are operated by the Philippine Clearing House Corp. and BancNet Inc., respectively.

The two payment systems are expected to comply with international standards that foster safe, efficient, and reliable operations, particularly those provided under BSP Circular No. 1126 series of 2021.

The said circular mandates the adoption of the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures for Designated Payment Systems, according to the BSP.—AOL, GMA News