BSP team gets award for PH e-payments system

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. (File photo / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte will confer the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award to the National Retail Payment System core team of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its efforts in developing a key reform initiative that now enables the wider use of digital payments in the Philippines.

In a statement, the BSP said the award—a program of the Civil Service Commission—is given to an individual or group of individuals for exceptional contributions resulting from an idea or performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security and patrimony.

The core team members are Jay Dizon, Anna Lissa Racines, German Constantino, Jr. and Bridget Rose Mesina-Romero. Senior Director Raymond Estioko, of BSP’s Payment System Oversight Department, supervises the payment system’s core team.

“The BSP is proud of the core team’s pioneering work in transforming the country’s retail payment ecosystem into a safe, efficient, competitive and inclusive environment where Filipinos, regardless of social or economic status, are given equal opportunities to access payment services with the aid of technology,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said.

“The National Retail Payment System framework has been instrumental in the development of innovative payment services that Filipinos are now enjoying and have proven essential especially when the pandemic started in 2020,” he added. “These services include PESONet, InstaPay, eGovPay and QR Ph.”

“These interoperable digital payment facilities provided safe and convenient alternatives in sending money to loved ones, paying obligations, or purchasing goods and services,” Diokno added.

PESONet and InstaPay enabled electronic fund transfers among participating institutions and continue to empower Filipinos in making payment choices that are responsive to their needs. These digital payment streams served as crucial foundations in the implementation of eGov Pay and QR Ph, two initiatives that have helped enhance the safety and efficiency of government, merchant and individual payments.

EGov Pay, meanwhile, enables individuals and businesses to digitally pay fees to the government such as taxes and permits through PESONet. On the other hand, QR Ph is the national quick reaction code standard which enables consumers to pay by simply scanning the QR code of the payee, even if the latter maintains an account with a different bank or electronic money issuer.

The BSP fosters the wider use of digital payments, which facilitate transactions, spur economic activities, and ultimately support the inclusive and sustainable economic growth of the country.

With the collaborative efforts of key stakeholders, especially the payments industry led by the Philippine Payments Management Inc., the BSP said it is optimistic that the country can build inclusive pathways towards a cash-lite society and enable more Filipinos to reap the benefits of a growing digital economy.

TSB