BSP: PH can meet 2023 digitalization goal

The country’s top monetary regulator believes the Philippines can meet the central bank’s ambitious goals for improved digitalization and financial inclusion in two years as a means of boosting inclusive growth among citizens.

Speaking at an online forum of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno described his vision for the Philippines becoming a digital-heavy, cash-light society.

“Fifty percent or half of all transactions should be digital by 2023 and 70 percent of Filipino adults should have formal bank accounts by 2023,” he told a group lead by ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe ahead of the multilateral lender’s annual meeting next month.

Diokno said the Philippines had always been committed to “growing on a sustainable basis” while also being committed to reducing the incidence of poverty.

Prepandemic, the country saw headway in reducing poverty to 14 percent in 2018 from 25 percent in 2016.The role of the BSP is to enable safe and easily accessible financial products and services for all, he said.

ADBI vice chair Peter Morgan noted that the Philippines was “highly regarded on its programs and strategies to achieve financial inclusion.”

The discussion highlighted how the pandemic had been a catalyst for financial digitalization, as mobility restrictions prompted more people to use digital payments.

In 2020, over four million new electronic financial accounts were created in the Philippines.