BSP to roll out cross-bank auto-debit this year

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February 1, 2026 | 12:00am

By enabling cross-bank auto debits, the central bank expects to reduce friction for consumers and improve collection efficiency for billers.

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is preparing to roll out an interoperable auto-debit facility for bill payments this year, building on a pilot conducted in 2025 and expanding the system beyond same-bank arrangements.

“We already piloted it last year. We’re getting ready to launch this year,” BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told reporters on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Reception for the Banking Community.

He noted that while some billers already offer auto-debit functions, the new facility is designed to work across different banks.

Under the current setup, auto-debit arrangements usually require the customer’s deposit account and the biller’s bank to be the same. The BSP initiative aims to remove that limitation by allowing payments to be debited regardless of where the account is held.

“With this new system, if your bank account is in Bank A and, for example, the condominium you bought is financed by Bank B, that will already be possible. At present, you have to be in the same bank. This is still auto-debit, but now it will work in an interoperable way. It will work regardless of the bank,” Tangonan said.

The planned launch is part of the BSP’s broader push to deepen digital payments and improve interoperability across the financial system, especially for recurring transactions such as utilities, association dues and loan amortizations.

By enabling cross-bank auto debits, the central bank expects to reduce friction for consumers and improve collection efficiency for billers.

Beyond domestic payments, Tangonan also pointed to cross-border initiatives that will be rolled out this year as the Philippines holds the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chairmanship.

“We’re going to launch our linkage with Malaysia this year. So it means that Malaysian visitors, when they come here, they can buy stuff using their QR. They can ride our trains and our bus,” he said.

“Their payments will go through the InstaPay rails and then it will go through DuitNow,” he said, referring to Malaysia’s national QR payment system.

The linkage will allow Malaysian financial apps that use DuitNow to scan and pay via Philippine QR codes, with transactions routed through InstaPay and bridged to Malaysia’s system.

Asked whether this is related to the regional Nexus initiative, Tangonan said the project will run in parallel. He added that as long as users in Malaysia have DuitNow-enabled apps, they will be able to use their QR for payments in the Philippines.

BSP has been positioning these initiatives as part of its digital payments transformation roadmap, which targets greater use of electronic payments and broader financial inclusion.

With the interoperable auto-debit facility and the Malaysia QR linkage set for launch this year, the central bank is looking to make both domestic and cross-border payments more seamless for consumers and businesses alike.