8 hours ago
3
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Alongside re-categorizing non-bank operators of payment systems (OPS), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is seeking to include digital banks in the list of OPS that are banks and impose the second-largest monetary penalty for reporting violations.
Based on the latest draft circular of the BSP, which expects feedback from financial institutions (FIs) by Nov. 21, the central bank has included OPS that are digital banks, which will be subject to a ₱2,000 penalty for noncompliance with the BSP’s reporting standards.
Monetary penalties for noncompliant digital banks would be the second highest among operators, trailing the ₱3,000 imposed—per calendar day—on universal and commercial banks, or big banks.
Thrift banks will be required to settle ₱1,500 per day, unchanged from the 2024 Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems (MORPS). The BSP also proposes to maintain penalties for rural and cooperative banks at ₱450.
Non-bank OPS, which previously fell under one category, were required to pay ₱300. The BSP now seeks to impose a size-based penalty, with small-scale non-banks required to pay ₱500 and large-scale non-banks ₱1,000.
Other licensed OPS will be required to settle ₱300, while registered OPS will need to pay a higher amount of ₱450 per day. These include clearing switch operators and other non-financial OPS registered with the BSP.
Additionally, the central bank is proposing to scrap reporting categories such as primary and secondary reports, which currently correspond to two levels of penalties. OPS’ noncompliance with secondary reports currently incurs lower penalties.
Noncompliance includes reports with incomplete schedules or attachments prescribed by the central bank.
Sanctions for noncompliance shall be “imposed for each calendar day that a violation is incurred, until such time that the report has been determined compliant with the standards,” according to the BSP.
Apart from the “continuing monetary penalties” for reporting violations, the BSP also proposes to impose “non-monetary sanctions on the OPS, its directors, officers, and personnel.”
OPS are required by the BSP to submit payment services reports (PSR), which aim to supplement data from banks and electronic money issuer-non-bank financial institutions (EMI-NBFIs) “to provide a broader and more complete view of the state of the National Payment System (NPS).”
