Philippine Clearing House Corporation

What Philippine Clearing House Corporation does

Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC) is a private, bank-owned payment infrastructure utility incorporated in 1977 and operational since June 6, 1980, when it became the first automated MICR cheque clearing house in Southeast Asia. It is co-equally owned by all commercial banks that are members of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) and operates as a neutral service bureau providing integrated clearing and settlement services to the Philippine banking industry.

The company's technology portfolio comprises six core systems covering the full interbank clearing stack: (1) the Check Image Clearing System (CICS) for electronic truncation and exchange of digital check images across 69 geographic regions; (2) PESONet, an Automated Clearing House for batch processing of same-day peso-denominated fund transfers via Payment Gateway and Web Service APIs; (3) the Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer System (PDDTS) for interbank USD clearing with Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), End-of-Day Net Settlement, and Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) FX settlement; (4) PAS6, a secure encrypted messaging facility linking the Bureau of Customs with Authorized Agent Banks for customs duty reporting; (5) PayGate, a payment gateway framework for government and merchant collections using PESONet rails; and (6) ARBICOM, a bank-led arbitration mechanism for check-related disputes.

PCHC's business model combines transaction-based fees (per clearing item, per PESONet/PDDTS/PAS6 transaction) with recurring membership and participation subscriptions across three tiers: Shareholder Members (commercial banks), Associate Members (non-commercial banks), and Clearing Subscribers (thrift, cooperative, rural banks). The platform processes an average of 704,000 clearing items daily from 9,000+ bank branches and is expanding electronic money issuer participation (125 PESONet participants as of October 2025). Distribution is exclusively B2B to financial institutions; end consumers access services through their banks. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company has no external equity investors.

Name

Philippine Clearing House Corporation

Legal name

Philippine Clearing House Corporation

Website

https://pchc.com.ph

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC) is the bank-owned national payment clearing utility of the Philippines, operating CICS, PESONet, PDDTS, PAS6, PayGate, and ARBICOM to provide integrated check, peso, USD, customs, and government payment clearing services to 125+ banks and EMIs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interbank Clearing and Settlement Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSABAJAB

Interbank Clearing (Domestic Clearing Systems)

Financial & Insurance/Banking (Commerical, Retail & Consumer)/Correspondent & Clearing Banking

SECONDARYFSABAJAH

ACH & Batch Payments Clearing

Financial & Insurance/Banking (Commerical, Retail & Consumer)/Correspondent & Clearing Banking

SECONDARYFSAMAGAA

ACH Operator & Clearinghouse Services

Financial & Insurance/Payments & Transaction Processing/ACH & Direct Debit Processing

SECONDARYFSAMAGAH

Government & Public Sector ACH (Tax, Benefits, Collections)

Financial & Insurance/Payments & Transaction Processing/ACH & Direct Debit Processing

Keywords

• Check image clearing
• Interbank payment infrastructure
• Automated clearing house
• Domestic dollar transfer system
• Electronic fund transfer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Makati

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Check Clearing Services: Transaction-based fees from processing check clearing items across the CICS network covering 69 geographical regions nationwide. Revenue is generated per clearing item processed for participating banks.
2. PESONet ACH Processing: Fees from batch processing of peso-denominated electronic fund transfers through the Automated Clearing House network, including same-day settlement services.
3. PDDTS Dollar Transfer Processing: Transaction fees from processing domestic USD transfers including RTGS, EOD net settlement, and PvP FX settlement services for participating banks.
4. PAS6 Customs Reporting: Secure messaging fees for electronic transmission of customs duty collection reports between Bureau of Customs and Authorized Agent Banks.
5. Bank Membership and Participation Fees: Membership structure with Shareholder Members (commercial banks), Associate Members (non-commercial banks), and Clearing Subscribers (thrift, cooperative, rural banks) that pay for participation in PCHC clearing systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Philippine Clearing House Corporation provides electronic clearing and settlement infrastructure to Philippine banks and financial institutions. Its core offerings are CICS for image-based check clearing, PESONet for peso-denominated batch electronic fund transfers, PDDTS for interbank USD transfers with RTGS and PvP FX settlement, PAS6 for secure customs duty collection reporting, and PayGate for government and merchant electronic payments, with ARBICOM providing check dispute arbitration.

Product overview

PCHC operates as an integrated payment infrastructure platform providing multiple interconnected clearing and settlement services for the Philippine banking industry. The core portfolio consists of CICS (check image clearing), PESONet (peso fund transfers), PDDTS (dollar transfers), PAS6 (customs payments), and PayGate (government/merchant payments), all unified under a single operator. ARBICOM provides ancillary dispute resolution. The platform processes approximately 704,000 clearing items daily from over 9,000 bank branches across 69 geographic regions nationwide, making PCHC the exclusive check clearing service provider for the Philippines and a critical backbone of the national financial infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced clearing period from 30-45 days to 5-7 days for inter-regional checks
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2025The Bankers Association of the Philippines renewed its partnership with Citi Philippines and PCHC through August 2030 to continue operating the Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer System (PDDTS) and Payment-versus-Payment System. BAP initiated the PDDTS in 1991 to expedite clearing of USD remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers. PCHC serves as sole System Operator for all PDDTS services.
• Citi PhilippinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2025Citi Philippines serves as the exclusive Settlement Bank for PDDTS, providing real-time gross settlement and end-of-day net settlement for USD transactions. The partnership was renewed through August 2030 with upgraded IT infrastructure targeting 99.5% system uptime and improved disaster recovery protocols.
• Citibank, N.A. (Settlement Bank)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020Citibank, N.A. was reaffirmed in 2020 as the exclusive Settlement Bank for PDDTS, processing RTGS and EOD net settlement for USD transactions. The partnership includes transition from LIBOR to the Effective Federal Funds Rate as benchmark reference.
• Bureau of Customs (BOC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 1996BAP and BOC established PAS6 (Payment Application Secure) in October 1996 for secure electronic transmission of customs collection reports. PCHC serves as the exclusive service provider, ensuring authenticated, tamper-resistant transmission of collection abstracts from Authorized Agent Banks to BOC.
• BancNetflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerA key structural development is the merger of BancNet and Philippine Clearing House Corp. into the Payments Network of the Philippines, which consolidates payment infrastructure to reduce redundancy that banks previously used to justify high fees. This merger represents a major consolidation of Philippine payment system infrastructure.
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCHC operates as a systematically important payment system under BSP oversight. PDDTS was designated as a systematically important payment system by BSP in 2022. PCHC submits net clearing positions to BSP for posting to participant banks' DDA accounts. BSP has mandated consumer protections including free micro-transactions for small merchants.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Clearing House (TCH): Operates the US private-sector interbank payment system including previously the Check 21 image clearing exchange and RTP real-time payments. Closest direct analogue to PCHC as a bank-owned national payment utility offering check image clearing, ACH, and real-time payments.
• Nacha: Governs the US ACH Network (Direct Deposit, electronic payments) and develops Same Day ACH. Operates a similar ACH rule-making and operating role as PCHC does for PESONet, governing batch electronic fund transfer clearing across US financial institutions.
• Australian Payments Plus (AusPayPlus): Australia's national payments utility operating the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS), cheque processing, direct entry, and now the New Payments Platform. Highly comparable as a multi-rail national clearing house combining legacy cheque with modern EFT infrastructure.
• BancNet: Philippines' primary ATM and electronic funds transfer network shared by virtually all Philippine banks, currently being merged with PCHC into the Payments Network of the Philippines. Most directly comparable as the domestic payments network that PCHC will consolidate with to form a unified national payment utility.

Regional players

• Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited (HKICL): Operates Hong Kong's interbank clearing systems including cheque clearing, HKD RTGS (CHATS), and USD RTGS in Hong Kong. Directly comparable Asian regional peer operating both cheque image clearing and RTGS for local and foreign currency, similar to PCHC's CICS and PDDTS offerings.
• Payments Canada: Operates Canada's national payment systems including the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) handling cheque clearing and electronic funds transfer, and the upcoming Real-Time Rail (RTR). Comparable role as national clearing house operator combining legacy paper clearing with electronic payment rails.
• Pay.UK: UK payments infrastructure operator running BACS (Direct Debit/Direct Credit), Faster Payments, and cheque Image Clearing System. Directly comparable as a multi-rail national clearing operator that has absorbed the cheque clearing role similar to PCHC's CICS.
• Zengin Net (Japanese Banks' Payment Clearing Network): Operates Japan's nationwide interbank data telecommunications system for domestic funds transfers among member banks. Comparable as a long-established national bank-owned payment clearing utility similar to PCHC's PESONet ACH and PDDTS systems.

Emerging players

• PayNet (National Payments Corporation of India): India's umbrella payment infrastructure organization operating NACH (ACH), UPI (instant payments), and IMPS. Comparable as an emerging-market national payment utility governing multiple electronic payment rails, though operating in a higher-volume digital-first environment than PCHC.

Broad incumbents

• Federal Reserve Banks (Federal Reserve System): Operates Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH, the FedNow real-time payment service, and national check clearing via the Federal Reserve Banks. Functions as a broader incumbent providing similar ACH and check clearing services that compete or substitute for PCHC-type utilities in other jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/philippine-clearing-house-corporation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Philippine Clearing House Corporation