BSP eyes tighter e-money rules to protect consumersMANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is proposing amendments to its electronic money regulations that will tighten liquidity safeguards, strengthen trust arrangements and introduce recovery planning requirements for non-bank electronic money issuers (EMIs). Under the proposal, EMIs will be required to maintain unencumbered liquid assets equivalent to their outstanding e-money balances. The BSP said these assets would remain restricted and may only be released upon authorization, particularly if a recovery plan fails. At this stage, the BSP or a designated manager or receiver may assume control over trust assets and liquid funds earmarked for e-money redemption to ensure orderly settlement of customer claims. Users and merchants must be notified at least 60 calendar days before any changes to terms and conditions take effect.
