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BSP PROPOSES TIGHTER CHECKS ON QR PAYMENTS
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is proposing tighter checks on the businesses receiving digital payments, including a shared database of merchants accepting QR-code payments. Banks and payment firms would have to identify the actual seller and the person or business entitled to receive the money, even when another company handles part of the transaction.
That can become harder to follow when several sellers use the same payment platform or collection account. Under the proposal, each payment would need to remain traceable to its merchant. Payment providers could not rely on a middleman without knowing who was behind the transaction and where the money was going.
For someone paying a shop through a QR code, the intended benefit is a clearer record that payment firms can use when investigating a suspicious transaction. For small businesses, it could mean providing or updating information about their business and payment arrangements. The proposal does not guarantee that every scam will be prevented or that disputed money will automatically be returned.
The BSP is still seeking industry comments. These proposed requirements should not be presented as new obligations already taking effect today.
WHAT TO WATCH
The final BSP circular: which checks it adopts, when they take effect, and what payment providers ask merchants to update. Those details will determine what shops need to prepare and how the safeguards work in practice.
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