The rules for electronic money (e-money) have been changed by monetary authorities to reduce risks and protect users’ interests.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday that the Monetary Board’s new rules set higher liquidity and capital requirements for electronic money issuers (EMIs) with large outstanding e-money balances and large-scale operations.
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EMIs with a monthly outstanding e-money balance of at least ₱100 million will have to keep at least 50% of their outstanding balances in liquid assets in trust accounts. The BSP requires the remaining funds to be placed in bank deposits, government securities, or other acceptable liquid investments.
Those with less than ₱100 million can still meet the liquidity requirements as long as they hold eligible assets.
With the new rules, EMIs with large-scale operations must have more minimum capital because they are more likely to face risks. Large-scale EMIs were defined as those with a total value of ₱25 billion or more transactions coming in and going out over 12 months.
Large EMIs must keep at least ₱200 million in the capital, while small ones must possess at least ₱100 million in money.
A monthly aggregate load limit of ₱100,000 was removed. EMIs can now set predefined limits and thresholds per client category based on the results of their institutional risk assessments and customer due diligence processes.
The changes divided EMIs into two groups, EMI-Banks and EMI Non-Bank Financial Institutions (EMI-NBFI), which include cooperatives.
The central bank said that EMIs would have one year after the new rules go into effect to follow them.
