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Philippines: National QR code rolls out in July
MANILA, Philippines — BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said that all BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) as well as payment service providers (PSPs) are required to comply with BSP Circular 1055 on the adoption of a national QR code standard or QR Ph.
The BSP, Tangonan said, issued Resolution 216 on the adoption of QR Ph to ensure the safe, efficient and reliable operations of payment system as mandated under Republic Act 11127 or the National Payment Systems Act.
Tangonan said that all PSPs deploying QR Ph-enabled services should require merchants and businesses to display and utilize QR Ph codes in their payment acceptance.
The regulator also requires PSPs to provide appropriate product training on QR Ph to their client merchants, including their store cashiers and managers, specifically on the features and benefits of QR Ph person to merchant (P2M).
This would help provide appropriate guidance to customers on the use of QR Ph and enable them to maximize the benefits of the interoperable national QR code standard.
Likewise, the BSP is requiring all PSPs participating in the InstaPay automated clearing house and offering QR-enabled payment services to submit a notarized certification of deployment of QR-enabled payment services compliant or non-compliant to the QR Ph standard including on the payment service use-cases that the non-QR Ph codes are being utilized.
“All PSPs deploying non-QR Ph codes, which is also referred to as proprietary QR codes, for payments shall be allowed to transition to the QR Ph until June 30, 2023,” Tangonan said.
He said that all proprietary QR codes for payment services shall be disabled and should no longer be available to the public beginning July 1.
Pending full compliance, the regulator said that no new electronic fund transfer service of such PSP should be approved until proof of compliance has been satisfactorily demonstrated.
Tangonan warned that the regulator would deploy supervisory enforcement actions to ensure compliance and bring about timely corrective actions.
He added that applicable sanctions to erring PSPs under RA 11127 and RA 7653 or the New Central Bank Act, as amended, would also apply.
According to Tangonan, the Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) of the Payment System Management Body should monitor and lead its members toward the full adoption of the national QR code standard.
“The BSP shall work with the PPMI on the appropriate implementation,” he said.
Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the BSP aims to shift 50 percent of total retail transactions to electronic channels and increase the number of Filipino adults with bank accounts to 70 percent by 2023.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/03/03/2248821/national-qr-code-rolls-out-july