Philippines VASP regulation: the BSP draft explained

Several trade publications have reported in recent weeks on possible new restrictions for crypto-adjacent payment services in the Philippines. Those reports rest on a policy exposure draft published in 2026 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank. The BSP draft covers two distinct subjects: a possible suspension of new applications for Operators of Payment Systems (OPS), and tighter requirements for payment relationships with companies that work with virtual assets. One point matters throughout: a draft of this kind becomes binding only once it is formally issued. Content, timing and transitional rules can still change before then.

What the BSP draft actually proposes

The draft describes several measures that still have to be read in the conditional, since none has been finally adopted. New OPS registration applications would no longer be accepted, or their processing would be suspended, for twelve months from the date the final circular takes effect. Applications already filed would, according to the draft, continue to be reviewed, but would be neither approved nor rejected during the suspension.

VASP-related companies would in addition be classified as high-risk merchants. Payment relationships would then be envisaged only as a direct merchant relationship, while multi-tier or “layered” arrangements would have to undergo particular scrutiny. The draft also provides for enhanced due diligence, ongoing monitoring and risk-appropriate transaction and settlement limits, settlement being the clearing or final discharge of a payment. For existing layered relationships the draft names a review within six months and adjustments within a further six months. Here too: these deadlines are the content of a draft, not confirmed obligations.