benjamin e diokno : keynote message - eccp ai + financial services future of fintech keynote message by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), during the during the eccp ( european chamber of commerce of the philippines ) ai + financial services future of fintech, 21 july 2021. * * * friends and colleagues from the european chamber of commerce of the philippines and fairs and more, inc., esteemed guest speakers, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant afternoon to all. i ’ m glad to be a part of the ai + forum series wherein we hope to have more strategic discussions about financial technology and how the financial services industry can leverage on technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics, among others, in designing and providing more customer - centric financial products and services. in just the last ten ( 10 ) years, we ’ ve all witnessed how technology has dramatically advanced and elevated our day - to - day living. from augmented reality games to self - driving cars ; from voicecontrolled home devices to life - saving medicines ; from office productivity tools to space exploration journeys ; the possibilities are indeed limitless. personally, i was astonished to recently learn about deepfakes. such advances in artificial intelligence are both exceptional and admittedly, disturbing at the same time. after the initial disbelief and amazement wears off, you soon realize how destructive this technology might be if used for ill purposes. perhaps this is the reason why there is still some resistance in fully embracing technology when it comes to providing financial services, particularly in banking. because banking, at its very core, is built on trust between the financial institution and its customers. trust is not built overnight, but is diligently earned over a period of time. despite the apprehensions, we cannot fully dismiss the potentials that financial technology has to offer, especially in bridging the financial inclusion gap. what good is it to have the perfect financial system if only a handful in society gets to benefit from it? thus, we need to set aside our fears and prejudices and transform existing challenges to life - changing opportunities by striking the right balance between innovation and regulation. the bsp has fervently sought to capitalize on such development. our goal has always been to enable a conducive environment for both incumbent banks and fintechs to harness their full potential with regard to their journey

will produce 116 million pieces of cards over the next three years for the philippine id system to be issued to all philippine citizens and 5 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches resident aliens registered under the philippine identification system ( philsys ). with philsys, filipinos can easily obtain a valid government identification card, which can be used in applying for bank accounts and other financial services, especially for the unbanked. likewise, the bsp is actively exploring regtech and suptech solutions to enhance the timeliness and quality of our risk - based decision making. we have partnered with r2a or the regtech for regulators accelerator, a pioneering project that provides technical assistance for financial sector regulators to develop and test the next generation of digital supervision tools and techniques. as we recognize uncertainties, we are also fully aware of the potential impact of climate and environment - related risks to the local and global economy. at the bsp, we have incorporated climate and disaster - related data in monetary policy analysis forecasting, monitoring, and risk assessment. moreover, the bsp issued various regulations on corporate and risk governance, including stress testing as well as regulatory reliefs provided to banks affected by natural calamities. at the same time, the bsp, together with the department of finance, cochairs a newly formed inter - agency task force that is mandated to facilitate green finance initiatives. the bsp also invested $ 150 million in the green bond fund launched by the bank for international settlements. this bolsters environmentally responsible finance and investment practices. the bsp also recognizes the important role of islamic banking in strengthening and promoting financial inclusion in the country. the bsp, together with the other members of the interagency technical working group on islamic banking, is committed to support the growth of islamic banking in the country. we experienced a confluence of steady growth as well as low and stable inflation last year. with that ideal combination, we are cautiously optimistic that 2020 will be an even better year for our economy amidst the lingering sluggish global growth. we set our sights on our goals that are impactful and beneficial to the filipino people. we continue to push initiatives to ensure that every filipino has wider access to financial products and services. we expect the share of electronic payments ( e - payments ) in total payment transactions in the country to rise to about 30 percent of the total by end - 2020 and to 50 percent by end - 2023. we hope that with the help of our industry players