##ability among banks and propelling electronic retail payments to at least 20 % by 2020. as of december 2018, there are 47 participating institutions for pesonet and 36 for instapay. pesonet transactions reached approximately php 86. 8 billion while instapay transactions totaled approximately php 8. 2 billion. we foresee a healthy rise in these figures with greater use of the funds transfer schemes by the public. and i encourage everyone here to try and make use of these systems. towards achieving financial inclusion in the country, the bsp likewise continues to champion innovation. in 2014, the bsp issued circular 855 on risk - based lending, which provides banks the latitude to focus on capacity to pay rather than collateral, waives documentary requirements ( e. g., income tax return and financial statements ) for microfinance loans, and provides reasonable loan options for start - up businesses. in 2016, the bsp issued circular 908 on the agriculture value chain financing ( avcf ) framework, which identifies guidelines and incentives for banks planning to engage in avcf. this policy was designed to encourage banks to adopt new financing approaches so that much needed funds can be directed towards enterprises in the ambit of the agriculture sector. as part of the push for avcf, the bsp has pursued a number of projects in recent years. these include the conduct of a study and forum on avcf. this year, the bsp will be undertaking a pilot avcf project for selected banks and value chain commodities, with the aim of building the technical capacity of banks in avcf and optimizing existing government programs on value chain development. by aligning with priority commodities for this project, we hope that further development can enable the country ’ s participation in regional and global value chains. the project is set to be launched in september. in the last two years, the bsp has also created a policy package to address the commonly cited barriers to participation in the formal financial system, such as the lack of funds, documentary requirements, and means to travel to financial institutions. these policies aim to help the unserved and underserved establish a financial footprint that would enable them to avail of and maximize products and services in the market. in 2017, the bsp issued a pair of regulations : circular 940 on cash agent operations and circular 987 on the establishment of branch - lite units ( blus ). these policies were crafted with the goal of

banking innovations. in february this year, the bsp issued circular 1033 to streamline the licensing requirements of our supervised institutions intending to offer electronic payment and financial services ( efps ). these initiatives, together with the passage of the national payment systems act ( npsa, ra 11127 ) that grants the bsp with regulatory oversight over payment systems, will significantly advance our digitization agenda. but in order for these developments and initiatives to be relevant, there needs to be a systematic collection and dissemination of relevant data, one that would inform policymaking and lead to a better, deeper understanding of the msme market. with this in mind, we have embarked on two initiatives designed to bridge the information gap – the national demand side survey on msme finance and the strategic partnership with the department of trade and industry ( dti ), microfinance council of the philippines, inc. ( mcpi ), and alliance of philippine partners for enterprise development, inc. ( append ) to expand the negosyo center financing ecosystem. the national demand side survey on msme finance, which is currently under development, will enable us to address the need for comprehensive data on the msme sector and formulate responsive policies and programs. meanwhile, an essential component of the negosyo center partnership is the creation of an information database on negosyo centers and microfinance institutions ( mfis ) nationwide. this database will enable negosyo centers to refer clients to various financing options and help microfinance institutions design products and services appropriate to clients ’ needs. finally, let me say this again. financial inclusion is a necessary condition for a sustainable 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches economy. to realize this vision means pursuing change and reform however difficult they may be. the bsp ’ s enduring financial inclusion journey attests to this. we craft our policies not only for the present, but also with the future in mind. i am optimistic that the various financial inclusion initiatives of the bsp that i discussed this morning will help improve access of msme exporters to financial services, and consequently enhance our country ’ s export competitiveness. with these thoughts, let me say that the best for all of us is yet to come. maraming salamat po. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches