By Shiela Bertillo
Mobile e-wallets Paymaya and Novi Philippines Inc. are now added to the list of firms licensed by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP). The firms were added to the latest list published by the central bank December 31st of last year.
What are VASPs?
Under the BSP Circular No. 1108 or the Guidelines for VASPs issued in January 2021, the BSP recognizes the evolving virtual asset systems or markets, and the risks associated with it because of its underlying features — anonymity, volatility of prices and “velocity” of transactions. The central bank considers VASPs as money service businesses, when fiat money is converted into virtual assets, and are still transferable and be used for payment.
Virtual Asset Service Providers are entities that facilitate exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies, exchange between virtual assets, transfer of virtual assets, and custody of these assets. (Read more: Key Takeaways: Philippines Guidelines on Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs))
Paymaya Philippines Inc.
According to its website, PayMaya states that it is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines, with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government.
The popular e-wallet and fintech app provides more than 41 million Filipinos with access to financial services through its consumer platforms. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 380,000 digital touchpoints nationwide.
Moreover, last year, the Smart Padala by the PayMaya network was expanded to over 60,000 partner agent touchpoints which serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved access to digital services. (Read more: PayMaya Expands Cash-in Touchpoints Nationwide)
Further, in an exclusive interview with BitPinas last December, Paymaya confirmed that they have plans to put cryptocurrency in their app. (Read more: PayMaya to Put Crypto in App, Not Interested to Acquire VCEs Right Now)
Website: https://www.paymaya.com
Novi Philippines Inc.
Novi is a digital wallet under Facebook’s parent company Meta specializing in international money transfers and remittances which helps people send and receive money “instantly, securely, and with no fees.” Novi uses USDP (Pax Dollar), a stablecoin digital currency, for its operations.
Website: https://www.novi.com
For other existing licensed VASPs in the Philippines, click here.
This article is published on BitPinas: PayMaya and Facebook Novi Philippines Receive Virtual Currency Exchange License from the BSP
