bringing the financial system closer to the people. last year, the bsp issued the digital payments transformation roadmap for the period 2020 to 2023. the aim is to move toward a cash - lite economy, in which at least 50 percent of the total volume of retail payments is in digital form. the roadmap likewise involves the onboarding to the formal financial system of at least 70 percent of filipino adults. this will be done through payment or transaction accounts using digital services. relatedly, the bsp has issued the open finance framework, which will provide financial institutions and third parties with “ permission - based ” access to customer information. this is seen to aid in the development of innovative financial products and services suited to the changing needs of filipino consumers. increased digitalization of financial transactions can be supported by the wider implementation of the philippine identification system, or philsys, which can create a unique, verifiable and biometric - based digital identity for every filipino. the operationalization of the philsys electronic know your customer and authentication facility will facilitate the digital onboarding of clients. this transformation is not limited to payment products and services, but also applies to investments and other financial transactions. indeed, the exponential leap in the number of uitf participants can be largely traced to new investors using digital platforms. the bsp calls on supervised financial institutions to take steps to meet this demand. as technology has advanced, the digital transformation of trust entities ’ systems, processes and services has become ever more vital to success. as always, the bsp reminds financial institutions to exercise caution and ensure that your risk management systems and controls remain well - suited to your evolving operations. industry initiatives 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the bsp recognizes the efforts of the toap toward the sustainable development of the trust industry. in particular, we commend the industry for its continuing efforts to implement and enhance the uitf certification program or the ucp for uitf marketing personnel. as the certification requirement will be fully implemented by 2023, we enjoin the toap to work with its member - institutions to ensure that uitf marketing personnel are able to successfully complete the program. the bsp views this as a crucial initiative in ascertaining that that these personnel can provide adequate information on uitfs and promote the safe and effective delivery of financial services to clients. we likewise appreciate our collaboration with the toap as we work to expand the pera ecosystem. the initiative to

people. second, it takes collaboration to build an ecosystem. regulators, fintechs or governments on their own cannot build a financial ecosystem. regulators can certainly create an enabling environment but they need the agility and innovation of the private sector in order to succeed. as a regulator, we have walked the journey with various innovators who have fielded presentations, demonstrations, asked questions to ensure that the end product is safe, efficient and serves public needs. additionally, we have been supporting early innovators through hackathons, mentoring and networking opportunities. third, is our regulatory philosophy towards innovation. we seek to maximize the opportunities arising from innovation while minimising the risks. this entails understanding business models, resultant risks and the mitigants put in place by innovators. we have followed this test - and - learn approach over the years, long before the advent of sandboxes. kenya has had its successes, but much more needs to be done to fully benefit from the digital economy. digitalisation is the next frontier for placing citizens at the heart of any nation ’ s development and more importantly raising their standards of living. it is with this in mind, that kenya ’ s digital economy blueprint was launched in may 2019. the vision of the blueprint is a digitally empowered citizenry, living in a digitally enabled society. we aspire for a kenya where every citizen, enterprise and organization has digital access and the capability to participate and thrive in the digital economy. to maximize our benefits, we must build ecosystems that facilitate digital transactions nationally, regionally and globally. this is the thinking that informed kenya ’ s digital economy blueprint that outlines five pillars as the foundation for a thriving digital economy. the pillars are : digital government, digital business, infrastructure, innovation driven entrepreneurship and digital skills and values. we are making progress in extending digitalization to other facets of our economy including digital court processes, automation of land registries and other government processes. more broadly, digitalization is enhancing the fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing. while these are important gains, much more remains to be done. circling back to the covid - 19 crisis, digitalization will remain at the centre as we transition to the recovery. there has been positive news this week of very encouraging test results on a covid - 19 vaccine. we must of course temper our expectations as a lot remains to be done to roll out on a mass scale this and other vaccines under preparation. but what cannot