The Central Bank of the Philippines has amended its rules for the National Retail Payment System and merchant payment acceptance activities, tightening how banks and non-bank supervised financial institutions price electronic payments and setting new due diligence requirements for Operators of Payment Systems with Merchant Acquisition Licenses. The changes require electronic payment fees to be based on documented cost analysis, follow reasonable and fair market-based pricing, and avoid structures that cause one user group to unreasonably subsidize another. For person-to-person electronic fund transfers, off-us fees should not materially differ from on-us fees plus any directly attributable switch cost, electronic payment fees are expected to be lower than manual or over-the-counter charges, and recipients must receive the full transferred amount without deductions.
Central Bank of the Philippines2026-06-17
Central Bank of the Philippines amends retail payments and merchant acquiring rules on P2P transfer fees and merchant due diligence
The Central Bank of the Philippines has revised retail payments and merchant acquiring rules to require cost-supported, market-based pricing for electronic payments and to set specific safeguards for person-to-person transfers. It also requires risk-based merchant due diligence and monitoring by licensed merchant acquirers, while allowing merchant fees only where they are transparent and proportionate to service costs.