Unionbank Philippines Gets Approval For Two-Way Crypto ATM From Central Bank

By Prashant Jha

The central bank of Philippines has given the green signal to an application from Unionbank Philippines to launch a two-way crypto ATM very soon in one of their many branches. The central bank of the country, known as the BSP or Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has given its seal of approval to the waiting application.

Having a two-way crypto ATM in the country will enable crypto holders and enthusiasts to convert their fiat currencies (peso, in this case) to Bitcoin or other supported crypto coins. Given it is a two-way ATM, the vice versa will also be possible

However, the Unionbank has not clarified which cryptocurrencies will be a part of the offering. The bank simply stated:

 “In the bank’s continued quest to cater to the evolving needs and tastes of customers, including clients who use virtual currency, the ATM will provide these clients an alternative channel to convert their pesos to virtual currency and vice versa.”

The BSP has granted the approval, noting:

“Following the warning advisory issued by the BSP in March 2014, a formal regulatory approach was adopted through the issuance of Circular No. 944 dated 6 February 2017.”

The circular in question is meant to lay down “guidelines for virtual currency (VC) exchanges” that are involved in providing “services or engaging in activities that provide facility for the conversion or exchange of fiat currency to VC or vice versa” within Philippines.

The central bank is involved in regulating the use of cryptocurrencies only as and “when used for delivery of financial services, particularly, for payments and remittances.”

The BSP has repeatedly noted that it is not necessarily endorsing cryptocurrencies. It is only further the Philippines government’s attempts to introduce novel, unique, innovative solutions in the finance sector of the country. In November of last year, the central bank had given the go ahead for 7 crypto currency exchanges within the country. It is now going through 40 applications from similar crypto exchanges.