By Katherine K. Chan, ReporterTHE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI) have rolled out the Philippines’ first interoperable direct debit facility and introduced a real-time fund transfer facility for businesses. Direct Debit PH is a standardized recurring payment facility under the National Retail Payment System that allows consumers to automatically pay their recurring bills from their financial accounts. This direct debit facility can facilitate transactions across different financial institutions as it allows customers to pay a biller holding an account with a different bank. Mr. Tangonan said he hopes Direct Debit PH will bring more billers into the system, including utility providers, telephone and mobile companies, as well as insurance and property firms. INSTAPAY SERVICESMeanwhile, automated clearing house InstaPay also launched its fund transfer facility for businesses, which allows 24/7 real-time business-to-consumer and business-to-business payment transactions.