The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the rules for the electronic application of merchant acquisition licenses (MAL) for operators of payment systems (OPS).
An OPS is any person who provides clearing or settlement services in a payment system as per the National Payment Systems Act. Merchant acquisition refers to the service of accepting and processing payment transactions on behalf of a merchant under an agreement, resulting in a transfer of funds to the merchant.
According to BSP Memorandum No. M-2025-002, all covered OPS engaged in or intending to engage in merchant acquisition will have to observe the new guidelines in the electronic submission of documentary requirements for MAL. The memo was signed on Jan. 14 by BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan.
The BSP said all MAL applications will be subjected to three phases with minimum requirements: phase 1 is the determination of eligibility; phase 2 is the evaluation; and phase 3 is the issuance of the license.
The minimum required capital for MAL is P5 million for OPS with less than P100 million average monthly value of collected funds from merchants. For those reporting P100 million and above, the minimum capital is P10 million.
License fees, meanwhile, will range from P25,000 to P60,000.
Entities that have secured an OPS-MAL will be considered compliant with the registration requirements as an OPS.
In July of 2024, the BSP issued Circular No. 1198 on the Regulatory Framework for Merchant Payment Acceptance Activities (MPAA). The framework ensures standards and best practices are established to protect customer funds and merchants’ rights when dealing with OPS that have MPAA.
MPAA are services provided to a merchant to receive payment in exchange for goods and services. These include merchant acquisition, providing the means to accept payment instruments and collect, secure, transmit, and process payment information; and providing support services related to the payment, said the BSP.
The framework is expected to “smoothen flows for financial transactions” and is also “seen to enhance end-user confidence in digital payments by laying down governance, risk management, and reportorial requirements.”
The BSP Payments Supervision and Licensing Department will be responsible for processing the applications for the MAL and other supervision or examination activities.
The BSP said it is enabling merchants to accept different forms of payments for the sale of goods and services “in a safe and efficient manner is vital in facilitating the smooth flow of funds in the economy and contributing to the wider adoption of digital payments in the country.”
The framework specifically ensures that OPS engaging in MPAA will adopt governance structures and appropriate measures to manage risks such as those related to settlement, operations, information technology, anti-money laundering and countering terrorism and proliferation financing, and end-user protection.
The 2024 circular covers BSP-supervised financial institutions or BSFIs such as banks and electronic money issuers-non bank financial institutions or EMI-NBFIs.