The central banks of the Philippines and Singapore signed an accord on strengthening cross-border digital payments.
The central banks of Singapore and the Philippines recently signed an accord on strengthening cross-border digital payments in the ASEAN (Association of the Southeast Asian Nations) region.
On Friday, digitalization advocacy group Digital Pilipinas said in a statement that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signed the expanded Fintech Innovation Function Cooperation Agreement last week.
GMA News Online reported that the said accord was signed by MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon and BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno during the World Fintech Festival Philippines (WFF) 2021 – Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF).
The linkage of the two countries’ QR and real-time payment systems, which were aimed at providing financial inclusivity to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), was one of the salient features of the said agreement.
Following the signing ceremony, Diokno said in a statement that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was taking the initial step in linking the Philippine payment system with those of ASEAN neighbors.
The said agreement, according to the BSP Governor, will enhance safe and efficient cross-border payments via seamless and smoother international fund transfers.
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Menon, for his part, said that the agreement was a “concrete step” towards the vision of an ASEAN network of inter-connected real-time payment systems.
Amor Maclang, the convenor of digitalization advocacy group Digital Pilipinas, described the BSP-MAS Cooperation Agreement as the “whole-of-society approach” in solving technological needs.
The extended Cooperation Agreement was expected to trigger more collaborations across the ASEAN region.
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