The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has called on payment system stakeholders to help build a 24/7 payment system.
The central bank raised this during the “2025 Peso Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Forum” held at its Head Office in Manila on September 18 and 19, 2025, and North Luzon Regional Office on October 2, 2025.
“Handa na ba tayo sa 24/7 na RTGS (Are we ready for a 24/7 in RTGS)? I encourage us to design that future together,” BSP Senior Assistant Governor Edna C. Villa told the forum’s 350 attendees, who represented banks, quasi-banks, nonbank e-money issuers, financial market infrastructures, and clearing switch operators that participate in the Peso RTGS.
The country’s RTGS system is the BSP-owned and BSP-operated PhilPaSSplus, which currently operates from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. A round-the-clock operation will enable the payment system to settle more transactions in real-time, interlink with foreign payment systems, and support further economic activities. These may include 24/7 remittances, cross-border e-commerce flows, and bond trading.
The forum, which marked the fourth anniversary of the PhilPaSSplus, also discussed refinements to PhilPaSSplus operating procedures on holidays and work suspensions, the progress on the ISO 20022 Standard Harmonization Project, the 2025 customer satisfaction survey, updates on the implementation of penalties on erring Peso RTGS participants, as well as the system’s operational enhancements.
BSP officials and industry leaders, including BancNet, SWIFT, and the Philippine Clearing House Corporation, shared insights on enhancing the country’s payment ecosystem.
An RTGS system provides instant settlement of payments, transfer instructions, or other obligations individually on a transaction-by-transaction basis. PR