Philippine central bank unlikely to issue digital currency

Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno said it is unlikely that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will issue its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the country's population remains heavily cash reliant. Instead, the focus of the central bank, for now, is on strengthening the domestic retail payment system. Diokno said the central bank has done consultations with other central banks, institutions, and even small businesses in relation to the use of a CBDC. Exploratory works are currently being undertaken for cross-border payments, settlement of equity securities, and intraday liquidity facility. Central banks in China and Europe have started working on developing their CBDCs. Swarup Gupta, an industry manager at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said significant challenges and risks to CBDC adoption may have made the BSP hesitant in considering a retail CBDC.