BSP Joins ASEAN-5 central banks in discussions on cross-border payments

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla virtually joined other ASEAN-5 Central Bank Governors in a session on “Faster, Cheaper, More Transparent and More Inclusive Cross-Border Payment to Promote Regional Economic Recovery” during the Indonesia Digital Economy and Finance Festival (FEKDI) 2022 held on 14 July 2022.

The Governors shared their visions for the future of cross-border payments in the ASEAN region; key aspects of establishing interoperability; opportunities for ASEAN; and prospects for collaboration among authorities and market players.

Governor Medalla highlighted the importance of increasing public investment on IT infrastructures and involving private players in making the goal of multilateral cross-border payments connectivity a reality. “In an island economy with nearly everyone having a cellphone, public investment in satellite communications may enable access to financial services almost universal. The government may work with the private sector to maximize the potential of and speed up access to e-money and phone-based banking services,” the Governor shared.

He pointed out that in establishing interoperability of cross-border payments, central banks should address not only the technical issue of aligning the features of different payment systems, but also the non-technical challenges such as those relating to regulatory, supervisory and oversight frameworks, as well as anti-money laundering and data privacy related policies.

Governor Medalla also shared that the BSP is currently working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in establishing bilateral linkages between Philippines’ InstaPay with Singapore’s PayNow and Malaysia’s DuitNow.