Philippines tightens VASP rules, boosts AI and digitalization

Homepage > News > Business > Philippines tightens VASP rules, boosts AI and digitalization TL;DR: The Philippines is ramping up its digital assets and digitalization agenda, from stricter oversight of payment operators and VASPs to a 34.4 billion artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure plan and deeper ASEAN digital integration. Additionally, the national government is also seeking PHP 53.1 billion ($848 million) for the ICT and digitalization budget in 2027. BSP freezes new payment-system registrations Philippines targets regional AI hub status by 2033 DEFA seeks to bridge ASEAN’s digital economies Government sets digitalization budget for 2027 The Philippines central bank freezes payment-system operator registrations On September 7, the Philippines’ central bank—the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)—has proposed halting new payment-system operator registrations for a year while imposing stricter controls on payment arrangements involving virtual asset service providers (VASPs). According to a draft circular, the BSP plans to temporarily suspend acceptance and processing of applications for operators of payment systems (OPS) to “holistically” review its taxonomy and li...