benjamin e diokno : advancing digital payments in the philippines – achievements and next steps presentation by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the digital payments leaders summit, manila, 2 december 2019. * * * good afternoon everyone. indeed, this is a celebration of what the philippines has achieved so far towards a cash - lite society. clearly, there is more room to get to where we want to be. so, before we leave this room, let me take this opportunity to present to you the key takeaways from this summit. we are set to take digital payments to greater heights. we now have indisputable mandate to oversee payment systems with the enactment of the national payment systems act ( npsa ) and the amendment of the bangko sentral charter. we also have established the governance framework, particularly the national retail payment system, which has been crafted as suited to our national conditions. moreover, we have existing clearing switch operators which are capable of providing the infrastructures that interconnect our payment service providers. of course, the philpass, which allows philippine banks to efficiently pay their clearing obligations to each other, has been there for quiet sometime. finally, as you ’ ve seen earlier, we have measurement and monitoring tools that will help us determine our strengths and weaknesses. i am grateful also that the better than cash alliance has generously helped us in determining the following critical payment use cases where further digital - oriented programs are necessary : social benefit transfers, payments to merchants or billers including to the government, payments to suppliers, and remittances. now that these are in place, what else can we do to move digital payments forward? it is necessary that we work together in providing a regulatory environment that is conducive to the development of innovative payment technologies and at the same time effective in minimizing the attendant risks. to the payment service providers and operators of payment systems, please continue expanding your networks, leveraging available financial technologies to be able to deliver more digital payment services that reach even those living in the most rural places. to the merchants and billers including our government agencies, you are the “ wind beneath our wings, ” so to speak. without your willingness to accept e - payments, the millions of filipino payers will never realize the economic and social benefits of digital payment services. equally important are the consumers who benefit most

a lot of information quickly! my bottom line is this : the country has what it takes to move forward amidst the uncertainty in the short - term, because we have put up buffers. i know you have heard this said over and over and over but ladies and gentlemen, this is not a trivial matter. it is the very presence of these buffers that has enabled you to enjoy the positions that you are currently in. we are where we are because we did our homework. to you, the vital players in the market, my message is – do not get stuck in the short - term. just because we have the buffers, doesn ’ t mean it should be “ business as usual ” you should always look to enlarge your business opportunities, and not just go for the quick trade. i encourage you to think “ long - term ”. i know long - term trader ( unless natatalo yung position ) is an oxymoron. but think about it, to survive in this business, you need to think long - term. the bsp has a full market reform agenda. the agenda, as you will learn quickly enough, is not a mechanical duplication of the international reforms. our agenda is a calibrated adoption of the principles of the international agenda to suit our idiosyncratic requirements as an economy. it is also informed by lessons learned from years of dealing with earlier crises. the bsp needs you, the market, to partner with us, in the full development of this agenda, and in its eventual implementation. reform will work only if we work on it together. i avoided using “ ink blots ” at the beginning of my remarks. but i think for my conclusion, i shall put one up. this picture is the word “ crisis ”, written in chinese. it is said that one character represents danger, the other opportunity. i am not an expert, but i don ’ t think the chinese meant to say that “ opportunity plus danger equals crisis ”. although to an undisciplined trader, working in a dealing room without the appropriate controls, he might see an “ opportunity ” which could then bring “ danger “ to the firm, and result in crisis. as a true market, we don ’ t ever want to find ourselves in a “ fix ” like this. the bsp is always ready to sanction such activities to the full extent of regulations and the law. but i digress, what i hope