PESONet and InstaPay are classified as important

15 July 2022

In accordance with the provisions of the National Payment Systems Act, the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the classification of the electronic payment systems PESONet and InstaPay as being among the most important payment systems in the country (PIPS).

According to a statement that was released by the central bank on Thursday, PIPS is a payment system that, despite the fact that it is not capable of generating or transmitting systemic risk, it still has the potential to have negative economic repercussions or to undermine public confidence in the payment system of the nation or in the movement of money.

In the interest of the general public, the designation of PESONet and InstaPay as PIPS will expose them to more strict monitoring and oversight by the central bank.

It was reported that the Governor of the BSP, Felipe Medalla, made the following statement: “The certification of PESONet and InstaPay as PIPS is considered timely as these payment systems would permit the launch of various use cases for digital transactions, such as interoperable bills payments and direct debits.”

In his continuing remarks, he stated that “this further increases consumer welfare as the Philippines comes closer to the Bangko Sentral’s target of having 50% of payments be digital by 2023.”

The batch electronic cash transfer service PESONet can take the role of traditional payment methods like checks and recurring payments. On the other hand, InstaPay is a real-time digital payment option that can be used in place of low-value cash transactions.

BancNet Inc. and Philippine Clearing House Corp. are the companies that are in charge of running PESONet and InstaPay respectively.

The BSP has stated that it anticipates the two payment systems, in particular those made accessible in accordance with the central bank’s Circular 1126, Series of 2021, to comply with worldwide standards that promote secure, dependable, and effective operations.