nations government programme, and other concerned government agencies. 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches the usage of pesonet and instapay has grown sharply, especially during the lockdown periods. clearly, the trajectories of the pesonet and instapay volume and value reflect increasing consumer trust in these fund transfer services. for businesses, the instapay has been useful in the settlement of low - value yet urgent financial obligations. it is even more convenient to use with the availability of interoperable person - to - person or p2p qr codes, which follow the bsp - prescribed national qr code standard or “ qr ph ”. instead of keying in the account details of the payee, a payer simply scans the code generated by the payee ’ s bank or e - money issuer, and the funds transfer happens in seconds. likewise, the pesonet has been instrumental in providing a safe and efficient channel for business payments, including salary disbursements, supplier settlements, dividend distribution, investments, and any other financial transaction of firms and institutions. in fact, the pesonet is a better alternative to checks. this is because the pesonet clears on the same day, while the check clears on the following banking day. under e - gov pay, citizens may pay taxes, permit fees, license charges, and other government bills. pesonet is the rail that serves as the backbone of the egovpay linkbiz portal. to date, there are over 280 national government agencies and local government units enrolled as billers. currently, pesonet transfers are done once, that is, at the end of a banking day. to further address the demand of the business community for shorter clearing intervals, we are pushing for multiple batches of crediting, that is, not only during banking days but also on weekends and holidays. with the success of pesonet and instapay, we are set to pursue more digital payment initiatives in the near term. first, we want to extend the qr ph use case. from only person - to - person or p2p when it was launched in november 2019, qr ph will soon include person - to - merchant or p2m payments. this initiative is expected to benefit not only large business organizations but also the small unbanked vendors such as peddlers, sari - sari store owners, and other

on comments received from both internal and external stakeholders. with the establishment to digital banks, we have embedded security standards in our regulatory frameworks for the protection of both the bsp - supervised financial institutions and their customers. based on our surveillance, cyber incidents rose during the lockdown as financial consumers conduct more transactions online. cyberthreats were predominantly carried out through phishing and links to malicious websites. most of which were promptly addressed by bsprequired layers of detective and preventive security defenses adopted by our supervised financial institutions. to ensure that these institutions remain vigilant against cybersecurity risks, we advocate a “ zero trust ” model. bsp - supervised financial institutions must treat any access to their digital infrastructure a suspicious access, such that it undergoes verification and security screening, which may involve biometric technologies or multi - factor authentication procedures. nevertheless, we are aware that the most effective means to overcome cyberthreats is consumer literacy. hence, the bsp, itself, has embarked on cybersecurity campaigns. we have issued advisories to warn the public on emerging cyberthreats and scams. indeed, the path towards digital transformation is like an uphill journey. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches each step requires collaborative engagement among stakeholders, including you as members of the makati business club. being prominent business leaders, you should spearhead wider adoption of digital payments in the business community. realistically, the road ahead is long and bumpy. yet with your unceasing support, i have no doubt that we will be able to sustain the momentum and eventually transform our payments ecosystem into one that is safe, efficient, and reliable. maraming salamat at mabuhay tayong lahat! 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches