Philippines Central Bank Details Plans for Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency
The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has shared more details regarding its exploration of a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC). Mamerto Tangonan, the BSP’s deputy governor for payments and currency management, announced at a press conference that Project Agila, the wCBDC pilot project, is expected to conclude by the end of 2024. Tangonan emphasized the project’s role as a “learning exercise.”
“We envision a Philippines where everyone has access to securities and investment instruments,” Tangonan said. “This means they could be purchased in smaller denominations and at significantly lower fees, allowing ordinary Filipinos to not only dream of owning these assets, but to actually own them.”
Six domestic banks are participating in the pilot alongside the BSP: BDO Unibank, China Banking Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Union Bank of the Philippines, and Maya Philippines. The project focuses on utilizing the wCBDC for interbank fund transfers.
In February, BSP governor Eli Remolona clarified that the bank was solely considering a wCBDC due to concerns about potential risks associated with a retail CBDC, such as bank disintermediation. He also confirmed that the digital currency wouldn’t utilize blockchain technology.
