Philippines’ BSP orders stronger controls for QR-enabled payments

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has instructed banks and outgo firms to fortify safeguards for QR-enabled payments and merchant accounts.

The guidance comes amid steps to code risks linked to wealth laundering, fraud and amerciable fiscal activities, according to a study by section work The Manila Times.

The directive was issued done Memorandum M-2026-017. It applies to BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs) and covers relationship onboarding, merchant monitoring and outgo colony arrangements.

In the memorandum, the BSP said BSIs indispensable guarantee controls stay “effective and commensurate with risk” arsenic outgo enactment expands crossed integer channels.

“BSP-supervised institutions (BSls) are enjoined to strictly guarantee that their anti-money laundering and countering coercion and proliferation financing (AML/CTPF) controls, including relationship onboarding controls and ongoing relationship monitoring, stay effectual and commensurate with hazard crossed each outgo activities,” the work quoted the cardinal slope arsenic saying.

The memorandum besides restated responsibilities for fiscal institutions engaged successful merchant outgo acceptance. This includes setups involving outgo aggregators and different intermediaries.

The BSP said outgo aggregators person “independent and commensurate” anti-money laundering (AML) responsibilities. These see merchant owed diligence, risk-based onboarding and monitoring, implementation of hazard mitigation measures, and suspicious transaction reporting.

At the aforesaid time, the cardinal slope said banks and fiscal institutions stay chiefly liable for managing AML risks linked to colony accounts. It added that institutions should support capable visibility implicit underlying merchants and related outgo activity.

The BSP outlined measures BSIs are expected to implement.

These see maintaining entree to sub-merchant accusation and transaction-level data, applying risk-based onboarding standards, and conducting periodic reviews.

It said reviews whitethorn effect successful restrictions oregon termination of relationships involving high-risk oregon non-compliant sub-merchants.

The cardinal slope besides directed supervised institutions to guarantee the due usage of merchant accounts. It called for wide distinctions betwixt merchant accounts and idiosyncratic accounts based connected the quality and intent of transactions.

BSIs were instructed to fortify ongoing merchant monitoring, including periodic reviews of merchant profiles, relationship usage and transaction behaviour. The BSP besides raised concerns implicit “mule merchants” and the unauthorised usage oregon misuse of QR codes, and told institutions to follow risk-based measures to observe and forestall specified activity.