Direct Agent 5 (DA5) has been granted Non-Bank EMI, VASP, and Type A EPFS licenses by the BSP.DA5 becomes first fully licensed Money Service Business in the Philippines to offer remittances, foreign exchange, crypto exchange, and e-money facilities.It plans to launch SurgePay in Q1 2023, aiming to be “most innovative” web3 wallet in the Philippines.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has granted Direct Agent 5 Inc. (DA5) licenses to operate as a Non-Bank Electronic Money Issuer (EMI), Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP), and Type A Advanced Electronic Payment and Financial Services (EPFS). 

DA5 is now the 20th entity with a VASP license, the 43rd non-financial banking institution with an EMI license, and the ninth company to hold both a VASP and a Non-Bank EMI license, according to publicly available documents, Gorriceta – Africa Cauton & Saavedra, DA5’s law firm said in a statement sent to BitPinas.

DA5 has a network of 1,800 locations throughout the country and is a leading authorized direct agent of Western Union in the Philippines.

In addition to the new licenses, the company already operates as a Remittance and Transfer Company through its existing licenses:  

Remittance Agent License (RA), Money Changing/Foreign Exchange Dealing License (MC/FXD), Operator Payment System (OPS) Certificate of Registration from the BSP. 

This makes DA5 the only Money Service Business (MSB) in the Philippines fully licensed by the BSP to offer remittances, foreign exchange, crypto exchange, and e-money facilities, Gorriceta said.

“After 16 years of servicing OFWs [Overseas Filipino Workers], DA5 can further help our modern day heroes by bringing down the cost of remittances at a fraction of what banks and traditional remittance companies are currently charging,” said Raymond Babst, CEO and President of DA5. Through the newly acquired licenses, Babst said DA5 can begin fully utilizing blockchain to make remittances coursed through the company cheaper.

SurgePay Wallet: New Blockchain Wallet from DA5

DA5 will launch – SurgePay in Q1 2023, with the aim of making it the “most innovative” web3 wallet in the Philippines. Instead of using the traditional remittance route, money transfers using SurgePay will be coursed through blockchain.

“This means that users can send and receive money anywhere in the world and claim their remittances in seconds from any DA5 outlet nationwide,” Gorriceta – Africa Cauton & Saavedra said.

As a regulated entity for the past 16 years, DA5 said it is well positioned to lead the Philippine financial ecosystem in the adoption of blockchain technology and government regulation.

“By doing so, it positions the Philippines as a progressive country that embraces blockchain, tokenization, and Web 3.0 development putting it at par with its Asian neighbors like Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, and Korea,” the law firm added.

DA5 previously partnered with VASP-licensed Bloom Solutions to allow the authorized Western Union agent to buy and sell Bitcoin via over-the-counter (OTC).

Mobile wallet and crypto exchange Coins.ph recently received its Advanced Type A EPFS license from the BSP this month.

This article is published on BitPinas: DA5 is the New BSP-Licensed VASP (Crypto Exchange), Plans to Launch SurgePay Wallet

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ December 20, 2022 6:04 am