BSP fully automates intraday settlement facility

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has fully automated the intraday settlement facility (ISF), making it available for all eligible financial institutions that encounter timing discrepancies in settling transactions through the Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payment system.

In a statement, the BSP said automating the ISF was made possible by linking its RTGS system (PhilPaSSplus) with the Enhanced National Registry of Scripless Securities of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

“The 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 central bank said.

Aside from preventing gridlocks in the PhilPaSSplus from timing mismatches in the settlement of payments between participants, the BSP added that the automated ISF is also designed to support a quick and efficient paperless process.

“This 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,” the BSP said.

PhilPaSS Plus is an RTGS system that processes and settles high-value transactions between banks, enabling efficient and low-risk settlement of large-value fund transfers. The growing number of settlements by financial institutions prompted the BSP to upgrade the PhilPaSS system to PhilPaSS Plus in July 2020.

This system also settles the clearing results of retail payments made by individuals, businesses and the government using checks, ATMs, InstaPay and PESONet.

Based on central bank data, the total number of transactions settled and processed in the PhilPaSSplus rose by 2.6 percent to 371,260 in the first quarter from 361,889 a year ago.

In terms of value, the total value of transactions reached P128.5 trillion in the first quarter, higher by 1.6 percent from last year’s P126.4 trillion.

The peso RTGS payment system has been designated as a systemically important payment system (SIPS).

Under the BSP’s payment system oversight framework, SIPS refers to a payment system, which poses or has potential to pose systemic risk that could threaten the stability of the national payment system.

Participants are required to comply with the rules, standards, and requirements promulgated by the BSP as well as contribute toward ensuring the safety, efficiency and reliability of the payment system.