securities, as allowed under our recently amended charter. this will help us better manage liquidity. on financial stability, we are committed to a dynamic regulatory environment that reflects an ever - changing landscape for our supervised entities. we will continue to refine regulations, taking into account good corporate governance, sound risk management, efficient financial intermediation, and effective customer service. the bsp is actively promoting financial technology, which helps speed up payments and capital turnaround and therefore boosts income and economic growth. my personal goal is that half of financial transactions in the country should be digital by 2023, the end of my term. but with enabling regulations and the pandemic, this may be achieved sooner — perhaps by the end of 2022. in fact, we have seen an exponential increase in the use of e - payments platforms instapay and pesonet. we have launched mobile apps for savings and investments. we have rolled out programs that pave the way for an extensive use of the qr code system for payments. the bsp embraces regulation technologies or “ regtech, ” which facilitate efficient delivery of regulatory requirements. the bsp has also pilot - tested a chatbot that can handle questions and concerns sent by the public through digital platforms with the use of artificial intelligence. amid these encouraging developments, the bsp has kept a sober eye on risks accompanying the use of electronic data. in line with this, the bsp has launched a three - year digital payments transformation roadmap, which is anchored on promoting access to financial products through digital platforms, with appropriate safeguards. the roadmap has three pillars : ( i ) development of digital payment streams ; ( ii ) establishment of interoperable digital payments ecosystem ; and ( iii ) implementation of digital governance 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches standards for consumer protection. with the roadmap, we expect digital banks to play a key role in expanding access to a broad range of financial services. the bsp will be introducing digital banks as a distinct bank classification. all these initiatives put the bsp at the forefront of the philippines ’ goal of becoming a more technologically driven economy. the goals of a stronger and more technologically advanced economy become meaningful if these translate to faster poverty reduction. we want all filipinos to benefit from the fruits of development and technological innovation. the bsp is helping achieve a more inclusive economy via financial inclusion. if the poor are able to access credit, savings, and investment instruments

that opportunity. as part of the bsp ’ s tradition, we set aside a day at the early part of each year to celebrate our friendship with around 300 members of the country ’ s banking community. while the pandemic has prevented us to gather in historic fort abad like we did last year and the years before technology has allowed us to actually make history today as we interact with each other in a virtual platform for the first time. best of all, we are now able to expand this venue of camaraderie to include thousands more of our colleagues, partners and stakeholders — kayong mga kababayan natin na kasama natin ngayon sa facebook live. from our usual friends from the banking and diplomatic communities, we are now joined by youth groups and coalitions, msmes and fintech groups, and various non - government and industry associations. 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches salamat sa mga social media platforms, kasama namin kayo ngayon habang patuloy nating ipinagdiriwang ang tradisyong ito. such, indeed, is the beauty of digitalization. with a gadget and an internet connection, a regular person is able to do more with a few clicks or taps — anytime, anywhere. it saves that person valuable time, allowing him or her to spend it on more important matters. digitalization is among a few things that helped us continue with our daily lives during the pandemic. imagine the risk of exposure if one had to physically pay bills and buy food, medicines, and other essential supplies. it is a good thing that the country had been gradually embracing financial technology even before the pandemic hit. for me, it prepared us for the worst. in 2020, the volume of pesonet transfers surged to 15. 3 million, up by 376 percent year - onyear. on the other hand, the value of pesonet transactions rose by 188 percent, year - on - year, to reach nearly 951. 6 billion pesos — equivalent to about 5. 3 percent of the country ’ s gdp. in the same period, the number of payments made through instapay reached 86. 7 million, up by 459 percent year - on - year. said transactions were valued at 463. 4 billion pesos, which was a 340 - percent increase year - on - year. this amount of instapa