Cross-border payments could soon be seamless as the Philippines nears its linking in Project Nexus, a standardized multilateral network that connects various domestic instant payment systems (IPS).

“We're a bit ahead [of participating central banks] because we’ve already hired the key executives and established the company in Singapore,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told reporters on the sidelines of the Chamber of Thrift Banks’ (CTB) general membership meeting on Monday, March 2.

“They are now running it, and we've selected a technology operator, so the platform is currently being built,” Tangonan said. He heads the central bank’s payments and currency management sector (PCMS).

Tangonan said the timeline for onboarding is mid-2027, as agreed by the BSP. This year, the central bank is focusing on building and testing the system.

“I want to be clear about why [cross-border connectivity] is important for our country. Through Project Nexus, we are linking InstaPay with the fast payment systems of five other major economies in the region,” Tangonan told the private sector.

He reported that Indonesia recently joined as the sixth central bank partner, following the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and India. Overall, the project aims to provide round-the-clock, fast, low-cost, and transparent money transfers.

By replacing complex bilateral links with a standardized multilateral network, Project Nexus—an initiative by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub—will simplify global connectivity and encourage a more seamless payments landscape.

According to the deputy governor, the combined value of e-payments accounted for 90 percent of Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025.

E-payment transactions locally surged to ₱24.74 trillion in 2025 as the volume of electronic fund transfers more than tripled, marking a fundamental shift in how consumers and businesses navigate the post-pandemic economy.

Data from the BSP showed that combined transactions through the PESONet and InstaPay clearing houses reached ₱24.74 trillion from January to December 2025, a 42 percent increase from the ₱17.42 trillion recorded in 2024.

It bears recalling that BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. earlier said cyberthreats are plaguing the system, creating friction for the digital shift.

Local banks are moving toward highly digitalized payment processes, but risks are emerging along the way, Remolona said. This could derail the goal of having 70 percent of payments done digitally by 2028, as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

“We worry a lot about cyber risks. Even as we continue to encourage digitalization, we are also pushing banks to ensure they are defending themselves against cyber threats,” Remolona said, admitting that the pace of e-payments growth has been sluggish, requiring a few more years to meet the 2028 goal.

Meanwhile, Tangonan remains upbeat on hitting the target, asserting that the lower end of it at 60 percent stands only a few percentage points (bps) away from the currency growth. He noted, however, that recent data showed this growth was only in single digits.

As of 2024, digital payments accounted for 57.4 percent of total retail transactions in the country, up from 52.8 percent in 2023 and surpassing the government’s maximum target of 54 percent.