By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Bank of Indonesia (BI) has agreed to help out each other in advancing banking and financial systems’ digital and payments sectors.
The BSP and BI has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to forge closer ties and cooperation in these specific areas.
“The MOU aims to provide a framework for closer cooperation between the two central banks to achieve a more secure, efficient, and reliable payment system, and to promote digital financial innovation,” according to a joint statement issued by both central banks.
The MOU was signed BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo.
The signing of the MOU concluded the bilateral meeting between Diokno and Warjiyo. The two central banks “fruitfully discussed numerous advances in digital economy and central banking, infrastructure financing using market instruments, and sustainable financing frameworks.”
“At the end of the meeting, both central banks expressed their commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation in further enhancing mutual economic and financial system development,” both BSP and BI said.
In a forum last week, Diokno reiterated that the BSP is focused on “enhancing the efficiency of the country’s payments and settlements system — which has officially become one of the BSP’s mandates under our amended charter.”
Diokno said that they will ensure that the country’s payments system is interoperable and ready for digital payment solutions. “With interoperable payments system, electronic payments or fund transfers from one account to another — even if lodged in different banks — is possible,” he said a forum hosted by Oxford Business Group and V&A Law.
There are currently 45 financial institutions that are under the interoperable payments system InstaPay, and 55 in PESONet. InstaPay allows real-time electronic transfer of small-value funds, while PESONet allows electronic transfer of bigger funds typically within the same banking day, said Diokno.