The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) launched a fully-automated intraday settlement facility (ISF) for financial institutions (Fis) on June 27, 2024 to streamline their transactions and prevent delays.
The facility is available to all eligible FIs that encounter timing mismatches when settling their transactions through the peso real-time gross settlement (RTGS) payment system operated by the BSP.
This was made possible by integrating the BSP’s RTGS system (PhilPaSSplus) with the BTr’s enhanced national registry of scripless securities.
ISF’s full automation is aligned with the BSP’s mandate of promoting a safe, efficient and reliable mode of funds transfer in support of financial stability.
The BSP said the ISF’s primary benefit is to prevent gridlocks in PhilPaSSplus from timing mismatches in the settlement of payments between participants. ISF is also designed to support a quick and efficient paperless process.
It said the feature allows PhilPaSSplus participants to obtain funds within a few minutes after initiating a repurchase agreement or repo transaction with the BSP. These funds can cover the participants’ queued or expected outgoing payment instructions in the PhilPaSSplus.
This system also settles the clearing results of retail payments made by individuals, businesses, and the government using checks, ATMs, InstaPay and PESONet.
The PhilPaSSplus is owned and managed by the BSP, through the Payments and Settlements Department.
The Peso RTGS Payment System has been designated as a systemically important payment system (SIPS). Under BSP’s payment system oversight framework, SIPS refer to a payment system which poses or has potential to pose systemic risk that could threaten the stability of the national payment system.
Its participants are required to comply with the rules, standards, and requirements promulgated by the BSP, and contribute toward ensuring the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the payment system.
