to not be seen and felt and may, in fact, make us less relevant if we do not adapt. i will focus on two of them tonight. regional integration first are the developments within asean. in the region, we continue to pursue cooperative efforts. the asean integration framework that is geared toward creating an asean economic community means that for financial markets, particularly for foreign exchange and securities, transactions are expected to be more fluid. hence, capital markets, banking services, and payments and settlement systems are expected to be harmonized by a common set of convention or standards. in a sense, this is breaking down geographic borders. technological advancements second are the developments in technology and infrastructure. as you well know, technological innovation is the new frontier and can shape the future of finance and investment. the advent of fintech is affecting the way financial institutions do business. it is reshaping the way investment products are being distributed, how clients interface with the institutions, and how investment advice is dispensed. the use of technology is considered as a lynchpin in delivering financial services with convenience especially to the unbanked and the underbanked. in this way, we have been able to break through barriers associated with traditional modes of transacting. the next few slides will cover what the bsp has done and what it plans to do to make sure that the gains are sustained and built upon in the future. the asean integration framework – banking and collective investments schemes the bsp demonstrated its commitment and support of financial integration through the passage of the amendment to republic act 7721 on the entry of foreign banks in the philippines in 2013. since then, we have had a major player in the asean region establish a branch in the country. we have likewise continued to upgrade our banking, supervisory and regulatory framework with a view toward adopting international standards and best practices. we continue to evolve as a financial supervisor and will be embarking on a major change in the framework this year through the adoption of the supervisory assessment framework or “ safr ” ( pronounced “ safer ” ), which enhances our existing ratings framework for bsp - supervised institutions. perhaps one initiative that would be very relevant to the fmap is the asean collective investment schemes ( cis ) framework. this envisions the cross - border offering of cis that will be beneficial to both investors and market players. for investors, the asean cis will expand investment options and create opportunities for diversification. for market players, the framework will provide an avenue to

better than cash alliance study released in december 2019, the estimated total monthly volume of digital transactions grew by more than 20 times from 2013 to the end of 2018, with the increase driven by payments made by individuals. the bsp is encouraged by these numbers and expects the percentage of payments transactions done digitally to reach 50 percent by 2023. you may also already know that the bsp has fully supported the passage of ra no. 11055, which established the foundation for the development of the philippine identification system or philsys. the adoption of verifiable and unique digital identities could pave the way for a broader participation in the financial system, as it will be easier to open accounts and apply for financial services. the bsp is mindful that the openness in the financial services industry and the ease of access to products will not by itself lead to inclusiveness. the risks to the customers and investors and service providers alike are higher if products and modes of delivery are not well understood. forging trust in the financial services industry is necessary and these can be achieved by promoting financial literacy and consumer protection. this is why the bangko sentral advocates these complementary initiatives. educating investors 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches for two years now, the bsp has been organizing financial education expos. in the november 2019 expo themes included responsible financial planning, becoming good financial role models, stock market investing, and mainstreaming financial education in school curriculums. the bsp has consciously targeted the younger population in order to inculcate early on, the value of saving and knowledge on money and finance. we have partnered with the department of education more than once and has supported private sector programs geared at developing tools for the delivery of important messages. as our economy continues to grow and such growth translates into higher incomes for consumers, the challenge is to make sure the consumers imbibe the discipline of saving and that they are armed with the proper information so that they can eventually migrate into retail investors. consumer protection now i turn to our other advocacy, which is consumer protection. while the underpinning principle is very simple – – not to take undue advantage of users of financial services – – it has taken on many dimensions because of developments in products and service delivery. for instance, the use of technology has added another layer of risk to transactions with customers. a client could have issues on data privacy, security, or those relating to simple downtimes in systems. the bsp has issued sets of