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Bangko Sentral Eyes Full Adoption of QR Ph by Start of Q3 2023

As per the memorandum, payment services and financial institutions will be allowed to transition to the QR Ph until June 30, 2023

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Editing and Additional Reporting by Nathaniel Cajuday

  • Through Memorandum No. M-2023-005 signed by Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangona, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has instructed the BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) and payment service providers (PSPs) to fully adopt and implement QR Ph starting July 1, 2023.
  • As per the country’s monetary agency, the implementation of the national quick response (QR) code standard is in line with its mandate to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable operations of payment systems in the country. 
  • Tangonan is currently the head of the Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS) of the Central Bank of the Philippines, which is tasked with addressing the interplay between digital money and physical currency and supporting the digital transformation of the country’s financial services.

To further accelerate digitalization, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan signed a memorandum on February 23, 2023, instructing all BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) and payment service providers (PSPs), including banks and fintech entities, to fully adopt and implement QR Ph, the national quick response (QR) code standard, starting July 1, 2023.

“All PSPs deploying non-QR Ph codes, which are also referred to as proprietary QR codes, for payment services shall be allowed to transition to the QR Ph until 30 June 2023. Beginning 01 July 2023, all proprietary QR codes for payments services shall be disabled and shall no longer be available to the public,” the BSP stated.   

To learn more about QR Ph, access BSP’s FAQs here. 

In line with its efforts to push for the adoption of QR Ph, the Central Bank first launched the Paleng-QR program in key cities around the country to help public market vendors accept cashless payments using the QR Ph. Last March 3, Paleng-QR Ph Plus was launched in Pasig City; the national QR standard is also available in Baguio, Davao, Tagbilaran, Naga, and Lapu-Lapu.

Accordingly, all payment service providers on the receiving end are expected to disable any transactions via non-QR Ph codes where an appropriate notification should be used to inform payors of an unsuccessful transfer. Internet platforms and mobile apps of PSPs are also instructed not to ‌support the scanning of non-QR Ph codes. 

Mentioning Republic Act No. 11127, or the National Payment Systems Act, the country’s monetary agency emphasized that the implementation is in line with its mandate to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable operations of payment systems in the country. 

Tangonan is currently the head of the Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS) of the Central Bank of the Philippines, which is tasked with addressing the interplay between digital money and physical currency and supporting the digital transformation of the country’s financial services.

In 2019, the BSP and the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI) launched the QR Ph—the country’s QR code standard. It is used for digital person-to-person (P2P) transfers and person-to-merchant (P2M) payments through the InstaPay rail.

As per the Central Bank’s data, there are 36 institutions participating in P2P transactions and 18 P2M facilities. The latest data from the BSP also revealed the transactions done through InstaPay grew by 37.3% year on year to P347.96 billion as of January.

Recently, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla called upon banks and payment system operators to eliminate transaction fees on small-value fund transfers to encourage cashless or digital payments among Filipinos. According to him, the current transaction fee of ₱15 may still be too high for small transactions. The central bank then added that they are considering a “cost-sharing system.” 

This article is published on BitPinas: Bangko Sentral Eyes Full Adoption of QR Ph by Start of Q3 2023

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.

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