Philippines Central Bank Weighs Freeze On New Payment Operator Licenses

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is weighing a temporary moratorium on new Operator of Payment Systems licenses as part of a wider push to strengthen compliance standards around payment operators and virtual asset service providers.
The policy update targets licensing and oversight. It should not be treated as a ban on crypto trading in the Philippines, and it does not mean existing licensed operators have automatically lost approval.
That distinction matters.
Regulators often tighten the entry gate