Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued two circulars for consultation that aim to strengthen the governance and resilience of domestic payment systems. First circular covers governance policies for operators of payment systems, and forms part of the BSP’s phased-in development of enabling policies and regulatory frameworks pursuant to the National Payment Systems Act. proposed policy provides the regulatory expectations on the governance arrangements and standards to be adhered to by all operators of payment systems, including the BSP itself, which operates of the Philippines’ RTGS system. The circular also provides for the criteria for qualification and grounds for disqualifications of individuals elected or appointed as directors or officers of a payment system operator.
Second circular covers the local adoption of the relevant PFMI (Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures) for designated payment systems. The draft policy will require payment systems designated by the BSP as either systemically important or prominently important to demonstrate adequate governance and risk management in several areas, enabling them to be more resilient to financial crises and participant defaults. These areas include: access of participants to the system; management of liquidity, credit, operational, settlement and general business risks; efficiency of the payment system; and transparency.