BSP defers rollout of new forex reporting system to June 2026

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has extended anew its test period for its implementation of the International Transactions Reporting System (ITRS), which is now expected to go live by June 2026.

The testing period is extended until May next year, the BSP said in a memorandum posted on its website. This marks the second extension of the testing period that was originally set to end in June last year.

Banks may submit their test reports through the sandbox or production portals of the system.

“The implementation timeline of the ITRS is extended to allow sufficient time for the banks and the project team to address emerging technical and report-related concerns prior to full implementation,” the central bank said.

“Banks may continue setting up their systems and are encouraged to exercise diligence in their testing to ensure readiness upon full implementation of the ITRS system.”

By June 1, 2026, the central bank will fully deploy the ITRS, it said. The system was initially eyed to be implemented by this year.

“Banks will be mandated to submit reports via the ITRS production portal upon full implementation of the system,” the BSP said.

The ITRS is a data collection mechanism that will allow the BSP to monitor and supervise cross-border and foreign exchange (forex) transactions.

The application programming interface in extensible markup language (XML) format will be used by financial institutions to submit ITRS reports.

The central bank has been conducting technical briefings and providing the XML schema for banks since 2023. Pilot testing was also conducted in late 2023. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson