BSP Urges Fintech to Capitalize on E-payment Surge

By Shiela Bertillo

Financial technology firms are urged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to seize opportunities presented by the rise in digital transactions and issuance of supportive e-payment policies in developing innovative solutions, on Friday during the Fintech Alliance Philippines’ 2nd General Membership Meeting.

“Strike while the iron is hot. Tap into your innovation DNA to create worthwhile solutions. The conditions are ripe and the time to act is now,” said BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno in a statement.

Fintech firms are companies that offer breakthrough platforms, services, and digital systems to automate, expand and facilitate access to financial services. (Read More: SEC Pushes For Balance in Fintech Regulation Beyond COVID-19)

According to Diokno, The BSP noted a significant spike in digital transactions amid the pandemic.

As of end-July 2021, InstaPay transaction volume and value rose by 64% and 103% relative to the same period in 2020; while PESONet transaction volume and value also grew by 190% and 50%, respectively.

Accordingly, the central bank issued policies on digital banking to encourage better delivery of financial services of digital banks without the constraints of brick-and-mortar operations, and on open finance to promote greater interoperability and collaboration among financial institutions and fintechs.

Likewise, the BSP is undertaking policy initiatives to amend its E-Money and Technology Outsourcing Circulars, and formalize the BSP’s test-and-learn approach or regulatory sandbox to recalibrate, and fortify its existing policies. (Read More: BSP Director: No Specific Guidance on NFT Games (Report))

Moreover, the BSP is also transitioning to a new supervisory rating framework, which centers on stronger offsite supervision

Earlier this year, the central bank and the other financial regulators in the country also agreed to come up with a unified monitoring and supervision scheme for the local fintech industry without stifling the firms’ new and creative ideas.

The purpose of these initiatives is to support the digital transformation initiatives of BSP-supervised financial institutions, counting fintech players, while promoting sound risk technology and cyber risk management.

This article is published on BitPinas: BSP Urges Fintech to Capitalize on E-payment Surge

Source: https://bitpinas.com/fintech/bsp-urges-fintech-to-capitalize-on-e-payment-surge/