The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered social media platform Lyka to suspend its operations as an “Operator of Payment System” (OPS) and to register with the central bank.
“It has come to our knowledge that Lyka, a social media platform launched in the Philippines by a Hong Kong-based company, allows its users to purchase, exchange, and use Gift cards in Electronic Mode or GEMs as payment for goods and services,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said at a virtual press briefing.
“The Monetary Board has ascertained that these activities make Lyka an OPS and is thus required to register with the BSP, which is needed before it is allowed to continue with its OPS activities,” he added.
Lyka is a social media platform launched in the Philippines by a Hong Kong-based company. The app allows its users to purchase, exchange and use Gift cards in Electronic Mode, or GEMs, as reward to content creators in the platform. In turn, users can collect Lyka GEMs and use them to purchase items from its partner stores.
Lyka operators have expressed their willingness to register with the BSP as an OPS.
(Photo source: Instagram – @lyka.global)
