The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is the central bank of the Philippines, responsible for monetary policy and financial system stability. For remittance, it is the primary regulator — any company sending money to or from the Philippines must be registered with the BSP as a Remittance and Transfer Company (RTC) or operate under a BSP-licensed bank or e-money issuer.
The Philippines is one of the world's largest remittance-receiving countries, with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) sending home roughly $34 billion per year. The BSP oversees this flow by licensing and supervising all remittance service providers operating in or into the Philippines. If a provider is not BSP-registered, it is operating illegally and your transfer has no regulatory protection. When you send money to a Filipino recipient, checking that your provider partners with a BSP-licensed entity in the Philippines is a basic safety step.
The BSP categorizes remittance operators under Circular No. 942 and its amendments. Key license types include: Remittance and Transfer Companies (RTCs), which are standalone money transfer businesses; banks with remittance authority; and e-money issuers (EMIs) such as GCash and Maya, which are licensed to receive and disburse remittances electronically. Foreign exchange dealers and money changers also require BSP registration. Digital asset service providers (VASPs) must register under BSP Circular 1108 (2021), which brought crypto exchanges like Coins.ph into the regulated framework.
BSP-licensed remittance operators must comply with Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) requirements, maintain minimum capital levels, and submit to regular BSP examination. This framework means funds must be properly segregated, transactions must be reported above thresholds, and customers have a defined dispute resolution path. In practice, it means that when you send money to a GCash wallet or via a BSP-licensed partner, your funds are handled by an entity with ongoing supervisory oversight — unlike unlicensed informal channels, which carry significant fraud and non-delivery risk.
Several exchanges used in the USD→PHP and other corridors to the Philippines are BSP-registered VASPs. Coins.ph, one of the primary crypto off-ramps for PHP, operates under BSP licensing and is subject to the same AML and consumer protection rules as traditional remittance companies. This makes crypto rails to the Philippines more regulated than in many other markets. When RemitRoutes compares transfer options for the PHP corridor, providers on the crypto side operate through BSP-compliant off-ramp partners, giving the end-to-end transfer a regulatory foundation on the receive side.
BSP stands for Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which translates to Central Bank of the Philippines. It is the country's monetary authority, responsible for financial stability, currency issuance, and supervision of banks and non-bank financial institutions including remittance companies.
The foreign sending side does not need BSP approval, but the receiving or payout partner in the Philippines must be BSP-licensed. Most major international providers — Wise, Remitly, Western Union — work with BSP-licensed local partners for PHP payout. Unlicensed payout channels are illegal and unprotected.
Yes. Coins.ph is registered with the BSP as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) under Circular 1108. It is also licensed as an e-money issuer, which allows it to receive and disburse remittances. This makes it a compliant off-ramp for crypto-to-PHP transfers.
Yes. GCash (operated by G-Xchange, Inc.) is licensed by the BSP as an e-money issuer. It can legally receive inbound international remittances and is subject to BSP consumer protection and AML requirements. Many international transfer services offer direct-to-GCash wallet payouts through this licensing.
An RTC is a non-bank financial institution licensed by the BSP specifically to transfer funds domestically or internationally. RTCs must meet minimum capitalization, submit AML compliance programs, and undergo BSP examination. Examples include local remittance chains like LBC and Cebuana Lhuillier.
The BSP publishes a list of registered RTCs, EMIs, and VASPs on its official website (bsp.gov.ph). You can search by company name to confirm licensing status. If a provider receiving or disbursing funds in the Philippines does not appear on this list, it is not authorized.
Compare live rates across 370+ corridors on RemitRoutes · methodology. Last updated 2026-03-12.