Fintech & payments regulation in Philippines (2026)
Fintech and digital payments in Philippines: licensing regime.
The Philippines has a clear, mature licensing and registration regime for digital payments and fintech, anchored by the BSP. The National Payment Systems Act requires all operators of payment systems to register with the BSP, e-money issuers must be separately licensed, and an Open Finance framework plus the InstaPay/PESONet instant-payment rails are operational. Consumer credit products such as BNPL are licensed either by the BSP (if bank/quasi-bank backed) or the SEC (as financing/lending companies).
Legal framework
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is the lead regulator under the National Payment Systems Act (Republic Act No. 11127, 2018) and BSP Circular No. 1049, with Electronic Money Issuer rules in the Manual of Regulations (Sec. 702 / Circular No. 1166, 2023) and the Open Finance Framework (Circular No. 1122, 2021); consumer lending/BNPL falls under the SEC via the Lending Company Regulation Act (RA 9474) and Financing Company Act (RA 8556).
Key points: digital payments & fintech in Philippines
Payment system operators must register (NPSA)
Under the National Payment Systems Act (RA 11127) and Circular No. 1049, all Operators of Payment Systems (OPS) must register with the BSP and obtain a Certificate of Registration; this extends even to foreign providers serving Philippine customers.
Dedicated e-money issuer (EMI) licensing
EMIs are licensed by the BSP under Sec. 702 of the Manual of Regulations and Circular No. 1166 (2023), with capitalization tiers of PHP 100M (small) and PHP 200M (large); the BSP lifted its moratorium on new non-bank EMI licenses effective 16 December 2024.
Open Finance framework in place
BSP Circular No. 1122 (2021) established a consent-driven Open Finance Framework covering banks, e-money issuers and other institutions, supported by an Open Finance Roadmap (2021-2024), regulatory sandbox and a live pilot for API-based data sharing.
Operational instant-payment rails
Under the National Retail Payment System, InstaPay provides 24/7 real-time credit-push transfers (up to PHP 100,000 per transaction following recent increases) and PESONet provides batch clearing with no cap; both are BSP-governed Automated Clearing Houses with combined volume of about PHP 11.1 trillion in H1 2025.
BNPL / consumer lending split-regulated
BNPL providers must be licensed: if structured as a financing or lending company they register with the SEC under RA 9474 / RA 8556 (with a moratorium on new online lending platforms since 2 November 2021); BSP-supervised banks/quasi-banks offer it under BSP rules.
Interest-rate caps on small loans
Under BSP Circular No. 1133 (2021), implemented via SEC Circular No. 3 (2022), financing and lending companies face a ceiling of 6% per month nominal interest (0.2% per day) on covered loans of PHP 10,000 and below, applying to many digital lending and BNPL products.
Timeline of decisions
- Law · officialBSP Circular 1205: Digital Banking Moratorium Lifted, Sector Cap Raised to 10
The BSP issued Circular No. 1205, effective 1 January 2025, lifting its three-year moratorium on new digital bank licenses and raising the sector cap from six to ten, allowing up to four additional approvals; applicants face mandatory third-party IT system reviews and updated capital conditions.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Law · officialBSP Circular 1198: Merchant Payment Acceptance Activities (MPAA) Framework
The BSP introduced a new Merchant Acquisition License (MAL) for operators processing merchant payments, requiring fund segregation, formal merchant due diligence, and a dispute-resolution mechanism, bringing payment aggregators and acquirers under direct BSP supervision for the first time.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Guidance · officialBSP Mandates National QR Ph Standard Across All Payment System Operators
BSP Memorandum No. M-2023-005, approved by the Monetary Board, required every licensed Operator of Payment Systems to adopt the national QR Ph standard by 1 July 2023, ensuring a single interoperable QR code works across all digital wallets and payment apps in the Philippines.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Law · officialBSP Circular 1166: Tiered Capital Requirements for Electronic Money Issuers
The BSP set PHP 200 million minimum capital for large-scale EMIs (≥PHP 25 billion annual transaction flow) and PHP 100 million for small-scale EMIs, creating a tiered prudential structure to match the rapid post-pandemic growth of e-wallets such as GCash and Maya.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Decision · officialBSP Imposes Two-Year Moratorium on Non-Bank EMI Licenses
The BSP suspended new electronic money issuer licenses for non-bank financial institutions to evaluate the sector's systemic risks amid a surge of e-wallet applicants; the moratorium was extended in December 2023 and fully lifted only in late 2024 after sector stability was assessed.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas – Manual of Regulations for Banks
- Law · officialBSP Circular 1122: Open Finance Framework
The BSP established the Philippines' Open Finance Framework, creating a consent-driven, standardised data-sharing regime among banks, non-bank financial institutions, and third-party providers via open APIs, laying the foundation for account aggregation and interoperable fintech services.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Guidance · officialBSP Launches Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023
The BSP published its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, targeting 50% of all retail payment volumes in digital form and 70% financial inclusion of adults by 2023. The target was exceeded: digital payments reached 52.8% of volume in 2023, up from 10% in 2018, validating the strategy.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Law · officialBSP Circular 1105: Digital Bank Licensing Framework Established
The BSP created 'digital bank' as a distinct bank category, requiring all financial services to be delivered exclusively through digital channels and setting a PHP 1 billion minimum capital, which led to six digital banking licenses being granted by August 2021.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Law · officialRepublic Act 11127: National Payment Systems Act Signed into Law
President Duterte signed the NPSA, formally vesting the BSP with statutory authority to oversee, regulate, license, and designate payment systems and their operators. The law provided the primary legal foundation for all subsequent payment-system licensing, supervision, and enforcement.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Decision · officialInstaPay Real-Time Low-Value Transfer Scheme Launched
The BSP and Philippine Payments Management Inc. launched InstaPay, the country's first 24/7 real-time EFT service for amounts up to PHP 50,000, complementing the batch-settlement PESONet (launched November 2017) and together establishing the national payment rails that underpin the modern Philippine e-wallet ecosystem.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Decision · officialPESONet Launched, First Automated Clearing House Under NRPS
The Philippine EFT System and Operations Network (PESONet) went live as the first ACH under the NRPS framework, providing a batch electronic credit-transfer scheme and replacing paper cheques. It was governed by the newly formed Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI), a market-led governance body for the payment system.
BIS / Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Guidance · officialBSP Launches National Retail Payment System (NRPS) Framework
The BSP and industry stakeholders launched the NRPS policy framework to drive interoperable electronic retail payments, targeting a 20% digital payment share by 2020 and creating the governance structure, including Philippine Payments Management Inc., that produced PESONet and InstaPay.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Law · officialBSP Circular 649: First Comprehensive Electronic Money Regulatory Framework
The BSP issued the first comprehensive guidelines governing e-money issuance and Electronic Money Issuer operations, defining e-money, establishing licensing and capital requirements, AML obligations, and consumer-protection rules, laying the regulatory foundation for the Philippine e-wallet industry that would follow over the next decade.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Sources
- bsp.gov.ph/PaymentAndSettlement/RA11127.pdf
- bsp.gov.ph/PaymentAndSettlement/FAQ_OPS_Registration.pdf
- morb.bsp.gov.ph/702-issuance-and-operations-of-electronic-money/
- bsp.gov.ph/Pages/InclusiveFinance/Open%20Finance/Open%20Finance.aspx
- bsp.gov.ph/Pages/PAYMENTS%20AND%20SETTLEMENTS/National%20Retail%20Payment%20Syst
- bsp.gov.ph/Regulations/Issuances/2021/1133.pdf
- elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/19443
- bworldonline.com/banking-finance/2025/01/06/644704/bsp-lifts-moratorium-on-grant-of-e-
- respicio.ph/commentaries/philippine-laws-and-regulations-governing-lending-compan
- lpr.adb.org/resource/implementation-bangko-sentral-ng-pilipinas-circular-no-1133-
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 23 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026