Philippine Central Bank: Virtual Currency ATMs Must Be Registered

A registered VCE complies with anti-money laundering laws and regulation, has appropriate security within their platform to manage risks, and provide consumer protection and customer support.

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(Makati, Philippines) April 4, 2019 – The Philippine Central Bank has released a memorandum regarding virtual currency ATMs.

In the memorandum released on March 14, 2019, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that its previously published Memorandum Circular. 944 dated February 6, 2017 applies to operators of ATMs that allows the exchange of virtual currencies to fiat currency and vice versa. The ATM operator is, therefore, also classified as a “Virtual Currency Exchange” because it is an entity that offers such services.

Because of that, the Virtual Currency ATM operators must be registered with the BSP as registered virtual currency exchanges (VCEs). A registered VCE complies with anti-money laundering laws and regulation, has appropriate security within their platform to manage risks, and provide consumer protection and customer support.

Last month, UnionBank unveiled its virtual currency ATM. BitPinas attended the launching event where the bank revealed that it plans on setting up virtual currencies in more of its branches. The ATM is in partnership with fintech firm and mobile peso and crypto wallet Coins.ph to enable the system.

BitPinas is currently waiting for a comment from the bank about whether or not it has a virtual currency exchange license or if the license is through Coins.ph.

In a statement sent to BitPinas, Ms. Catherine Casas, First Vice President and Head of Blockchain Business Development said:

“We have been working with our stakeholders and partners in the BSP on this initiative and in compliance with applicable regulations received approval to install a Virtual Currency ATM at the Ark.”

To date, 8 companies are publicly confirmed to have a VC Exchange License in the Philippines, like Coins.ph, PDAX, VHCex, SCI, B-Express, among others.

On a separate note, it is important to recognize the difference of a BSP VC License and a CEZA Offshore License. Kindly check the link article to know more.

This article originally appeared on BitPinas: Philippine Central Bank: Virtual Currency ATMs Must Be Registered

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