of regulations and standards, and the strength of multi - sectoral collaborations. in addition, we continue our legislative support and collaboration with national government on initiatives to strengthen our digital infrastructure, such as the implementation of the philippine national id system or philsys. the e - kyc feature of the philsys is envisioned to be a game - changer in the way financial institutions like pru - life uk onboard clients and deliver financial services. we are also championing reforms to improve digital connectivity in underserved communities and accelerate financial inclusion. digital connectivity is a critical enabler and a necessity, especially in the new economy. with policies, regulations and digital infrastructures in place, a wider range of financial products and services can be made more accessible to a greater number of filipinos. aside from deposit accounts, loans and payment services, affordable retail investment products should be among a regular filipino ’ s arsenal of financial tools. as stated earlier, investments remain low, growing only 2 % ( from 23 % to 25 % ) between 2017 and 2019. many filipinos perceive investing to be costly, and have yet to realize its value as an additional income source. according to the philippine statistics authority ( psa ), there are 7. 6 million filipinos aged 60 and above, of which only 20 % are covered either the social security system ( sss ) or government service insurance system ( gsis ). the harsh reality is that eight out of 10 filipinos aged 60 and above, and in many cases, retirees do not receive sufficient pension to fully cover their living expenses. investments provide people the means to enhance their financial health, as well as to protect their welfare against economic risks and sudden downturns, such as this ongoing pandemic. our latest efforts, as you will see, are aimed at putting investments within reach of the ordinary filipino. just this month, we issued circular no. 1097 allowing trust corporations to distribute their unit investment trust funds ( uitfs ) through third parties, specifically individual and institutional agents. in addition to this issuance, we recently launched the digital personal equity retirement account ( pera ). pera was established 12 years ago under republic act no. 9505 to help filipinos build funds for retirement. the duterte administration is implementing the pera for the first time. in fact, the number of investors as of end - july this year has only reached 1, 586, with contributions amounting to php 137 million. 3

' speeches processing, distribution and trading! while there will, no doubt, be rich business opportunities as new markets are tapped by new tools and technology, the ultimate goal is to reach the unbanked and underserved populace. jack ma, founder and executive chairman of alibaba said the goal of “ fintech or techfin is to rebuild the system with technology … to solve the problem of a lack of inclusiveness. ” this is clearly generativity in action, both in terms of the psychological need to build beyond oneself, but also in terms of how techonology can produce and influence new ( and hopefully productive and positive ) behaviours. how auspicious! how exciting! we, at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas invite you to share our enthusiasm. thank you for your kind attention. 1 coined by the psychoanalyst erik erikson in 1950. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches