Philippines proposes 12-month freeze on new payment operator registrations

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has floated a draft circular proposing a 12-month suspension on all new registrations for Operators of Payment Systems (OPS), effectively freezing the competitive landscape while regulators take a hard look at how these businesses are classified, licensed, and managed. The proposal also layers on significantly tighter requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) that facilitate merchant acquisitions, a move that underscores the BSP’s increasingly cautious posture toward crypto-adjacent financial services. What the freeze actually looks like During the proposed 12-month window, which would begin 15 days after the circular is officially published, the BSP would continue evaluating applications already in its pipeline. But those applications would sit in regulatory limbo: no approvals, no denials, just indefinite waiting. Any entity wanting to engage in OPS-related activities during the suspension period would need the BSP’s prior authorization. The BSP is currently soliciting public feedback on the draft, which remains a proposal without a finalized implementation date. Crypto operators face tighter scrutiny The payment operator freez...