Philippines Eyes CBDC Launch in the Next Two Years

• The Philippines is inching closer to the CBDC launch.
• The country’s central bank revealed a tentative time frame.
• The governor spoke to journalists on Monday.

The Philippines will likely launch a Central Bank Digital Currency ( CBDC ) in the next few years, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Monday.

While speaking to local business editors on February 12, Remolona stated that the launch would include a wholesale CBDC deployed on a custom-built infrastructure independent of blockchain technology.

Philippines CBDC Plan Winnows Out Blockchain

Per an Inquirer.net report , Remolona told journalists that the wholesale CBDC will be deployed on the BSP-owned Philippine Payment and Settlement System because “other central banks have tried blockchain but it didn’t go well.”

The BSP will start developing wholesale CBDC, where “banks will be the only counterparties and then, retail will ride on them.”

Besides its potential to rival unregulated cryptocurrencies, the governor noted that wholesale CBDC would likely improve local and cross-border payments’ efficiency, safety, and robustness. The BSP also believes CBDC technology can help mitigate fraud and cyberattack risks by improving the irrevocability of digital record-keeping.

The governor was confident that the Philippines CBDC project could borrow from the Swedish Riksbank experience in testing the use of e-krona as an alternative to fiat money or China’s digital yuan project for domestic retail payments.

Regarding the tentative launch date, Remolona implied it will happen within his term as the BSP governor, likely in the next two years.

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