BSP Lists Moneybees Forex Corp. as VASP on July 15, 2026

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, listed Moneybees Forex Corp. as a virtual asset service provider in its July 15, 2026 directory, naming Jay Ricky B. Villarante as the company’s president as of that date.

The entry places Moneybees inside the country’s formal VASP registration system. The company is registered with BSP and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) under money service business registration number 60-00816-0-00000. BSP’s directory identifies the firm’s legal name and president, giving banks, customers and other market participants a central-bank reference when assessing the business.

Moneybees offers over-the-counter cryptocurrency buying and selling through partner outlets and an online trading desk, according to the directory. The two routes give customers alternative access: outlet-based OTC trading and a web-based desk. The disclosed service centers on buying and selling, while BSP’s VASP framework extends to several other categories.

What does BSP’s VASP listing establish?

BSP Circular No. 1108, issued in 2021, sets guidelines for VASPs. It covers:

• Exchanges between virtual assets
• Exchanges between virtual assets and fiat currencies
• Transfers
• Safekeeping or administration of virtual assets

The circular also addresses risk management, customer due diligence and consumer protection. Moneybees’ OTC cryptocurrency buying and selling falls within its virtual-asset-to-fiat exchange category. Those requirements frame how a supervised counterparty evaluates the company, even though the circular also covers activities beyond the firm’s disclosed trading service.

For Moneybees, the immediate business consequence is regulatory visibility. Its legal name, president and MSB registration number appear in a central-bank directory, while its trading model remains subject to the VASP rules that BSP set out in Circular No. 1108.

The July entry is a directory update, not an announcement of a supervisory finding, penalty or enforcement action against Moneybees. For banks and other market participants, its practical value is a named legal entity and registration reference against which to conduct counterparty checks.

What does the licensing moratorium mean for new entrants?

A BSP memorandum continued a moratorium on new VASP licenses beginning Sept. 1, 2025, subject to reassessment. Moneybees’ appearance in the July 15, 2026 directory therefore documents an existing registered provider; it does not signal that BSP has resumed new license issuance.

The moratorium restricts new entrants while leaving registered firms within the existing framework. BSP continued to publish its VASP directory during the pause, so the directory functions as a record of registered operators rather than evidence that the market is open for applications.

In a Jan. 30, 2026 memorandum, BSP reminded supervised financial institutions to assess risk and conduct due diligence when dealing with VASPs and other counterparties. For banks and other regulated firms, the operational consequence is a risk review of a VASP before the relationship proceeds, not a blanket ban on working with registered providers.

For financial institutions considering a relationship with an OTC crypto provider, the practical sequence is to identify the legal entity, check its registration and assess risk rather than treat every intermediary as equivalent. The Jan. 30 memorandum gives those institutions a common supervisory instruction for VASP and non-VASP counterparties.

For Moneybees, the framework establishes a compliance baseline for customer due diligence, risk controls and consumer safeguards, regardless of whether an order comes through a partner outlet or the online desk. The rules also govern providers offering transfers or safekeeping or administration, even though the company’s disclosed service is buying and selling.

BSP’s reassessment of the moratorium is the next regulatory variable: until that review changes the licensing policy, new VASP licenses remain paused, while the July 15 directory identifies Moneybees for customers and regulated counterparties.