Philippine Central Bank Planning to Issue a Digital Currency

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank, has become the latest to show interest in the central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

As reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, the central bank has formed a committee to study the feasibility and policy implications for the digital currency issuance.

Governor Benjamin Diokno revealed that the committee is expected to submit the initial results of the study by the next month.

“We have to first look at the findings of the group before making a decision,” Diokno said in a statement.

Central banks all around the world are acknowledging the importance of the digital version of fiat, but many are also pointing out the negative impact on the monetary system. Diokno, however, is optimistic towards such CBDCs and does not see it as a threat to fiat.

“Cryptocurrency for us has always been beyond the asset itself but more on the blockchain technology that underpins it,” he said.

CBDC is in the center of debate between global central banks

Many other global counterparts, however, are much ahead of the Filipino regulator. Bank of Japan is also studying the implications of digital fiat and its challenges and is also a part of a major consortium including the monetary regulators of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe.

The French central bank also named eight fintech partners recently including SEBA bank, Accenture, and HSBC to test CBDC applications. The regulator already finished a digital euro trial with Société Générale.

The central bank of Thailand is leading the pack in Southeast Asia, as the regulator has already partnered with major businesses for the trail of digital fiat following the development of a prototype.

The Chinese central bank, however, remains at the forefront of CBDC development. It initiated development in 2014 and has already finished the process. The regulator also partnered with at least 20 outside entities, including ride-hailing giant DiDi Chuxing and reportedly Tencent-backed food delivery startup Meituan Dianping for the real-world trial of digital yuan.