BSP: National QR code standard out in July

The national quick response (QR) code standard for peer-to-peer payment schemes is set to be launched in July, a top official of the central bank said.

"The industry is set to launch the pilot P2P (peer-to-peer) in July 2019," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in an email to GMA News Online.

Fonacier last week said the national QR code standard — which pushes for a unified standard for the interoperability of transactions — is set to be released in the third quarter of the year.

"The national QR Code Standard shall be called QR PH. This QR code label unifies the various domestic cashless payment schemes that make use of the QR Code. A single QR Code label can be used for multiple payment schemes," Fonacier said.

A QR Code is a type of barcode which can handle several modes of data such as alphanumeric, numeric, binary, and Kanji. This is then used for payments or fund transfers.

According to Fonacier, the standard QR can be used for two payment streams — the P2P which will be launched in July, and the peer-to-merchant or P2M.

"The P2P is easier to implement than the P2M since the P2P is just like an enhanced version of InstaPay or PESONet, where users can transfer funds by merely scanning/presenting a QR instead of inputting account details as required under the current InstaPay/PESONet set-up," she said.

Launched in November 2017, the Philippine EFT System and Operations Network (PESONet) is the first automated clearing house of the Philippines under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS).

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

Through such services, the BSP is eyeing to raise the share of all e-payments to 20% of all transactions in the Philippines by next year.

The P2M QR, Fonacier said, will form part of a broader payment stream in the future, which the industry currently refers to as the Debit Payments PH in the meantime.

This will essentially involve four parties — the merchant or biller, the bank of the merchant or biller (acquirer), the payer or consumer, and the bank of the payer or consumer (issuer).

"Under this payment stream, the QR is only one of the means to facilitate a transaction.  There are other means such as using cards which are tapped, dipped in, or swiped at point-of-sale (POS) terminals, or accessing online channels," said Fonacier.

Fonacier said the central bank has created a technical working group (TWG) to set the rules for the Debit Payments PH.

"The Financial Technology Sub-sector is closely monitoring further developments in the adoption of the National QR Code Standard," she said.

"The Sub-sector is set to issue a Circular to ensure that there is a firm regulatory basis for such a standardization," added Fonacier.

Globe Telecom Inc., through its unit Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), is involved in financial services such as payments, remittances, loans, business solutions, and platforms.

In 2017, Ant Financial Services Group, the financial technology company controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, acquired a 45% stake in the company.

PLDT Inc., through its unit Voyager Innovations Inc. is also involved in financial technology through units such as PayMaya, freenet, Lendr, KasamaKA, and Smart Padala.

Voyager last year welcomed Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited as a significant shareholder in the company. —KBK, GMA News