The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reiterated its call for multilateral cross-border payments connectivity among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
BSP Governor Felipe Medalla cited 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 during the Indonesia Digital Economy and Finance Festival (FEKDI) 2022 held last week.
“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,” Medalla said.
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.
In establishing interoperability of cross-border payments, Medalla said 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.
In a session on “Faster, Cheaper, More Transparent and More Inclusive Cross-Border Payment to Promote Regional Economic Recovery,” other central bank 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.
