Central bank amends electronic payment settlement rules for InstaPay, PESONet
ANY planned changes to the settlement of electronic payments coursed through InstaPay and PESONet will now require regulatory approval, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday.
The Monetary Board has approved amended guidelines on the settlement of electronic payments under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) Framework under Circular No. 1196, the BSP said in a statement.
The changes are “part of ongoing efforts to ensure integrity and efficiency of the payment system,” the central bank added.
“Issued under Circular No. 1196 on June 27, the revised guidelines provide operational flexibility to Automated Clearing Houses (ACHs) organized under the NRPS Framework,” it said.
“The Circular requires prior BSP approval for new rules or enhancements to the settlement of e-payments under the Manual of Regulations for Payment Systems. This ensures that all enhancements to the settlement guidelines of ACHs are thoroughly reviewed and approved by BSP prior to implementation,” the central bank added.
The two ACHs organized under the NPRS Framweork are InstaPay and PESONet. InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is mostly used for remittances and e-commerce, while PESONet caters to high-value transactions.
“Under the policy, ACHs may now lodge requests with the BSP when they deem that adjustments are necessary to enable more settlement cycles, support faster settlement, and improve the overall efficiency of e-payments,” the central bank said.
“For instance, subject to BSP approval, an ACH may recommend the use of a particular demand deposit account (DDA) maintained with the BSP when settling e-payments, instead of separate DDAs. This can be requested in view of evolving circumstances, or when there are new use cases.”
The latest data from the BSP showed the value of transactions done through InstaPay and PESONet surged by 34.6% to P7.98 trillion as of June.
In terms of volume, transactions done via both clearing houses jumped by 66.1% year on year to 660.7 million.
The BSP, Philippine Payments Management, Inc. and PESONet Steering Committee on July 8 activated the third settlement cycle for PESONet transactions, the central bank announced on Wednesday.
The PESONet Multiple Batch Settlement facility now has a midday schedule, increasing its batch settlements to three cycles per banking day from the previous two cycles done in the morning and afternoon.
“The roll out of “PESONet 3MBS” shortens clearing intervals within a banking day, improves user experience by enabling faster crediting of funds to recipients’ accounts, and facilitates easier cash flow management for businesses,” the BSP said.
“It likewise enables PESONet participating banks and electronic money issuers to better manage settlement risks as settlement of PESONet transactions are now divided among three batches in a banking day,” it added.
In 2023, digital payments made up 52.8% of the volume of retail transactions. In terms of value, 55.3% of retail transactions last year were done online.
The BSP wanted at least 50% of the volume and value of retail transactions done online by end-2023 under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap.
The central bank wants online payments to make up 60-70% of the country’s total retail transaction volume by 2028. — L.M.J.C. Jocson