Phillippines Central Bank governor rejects CBDC potential. Benjamin Diokno reported that the institution’s “exploratory” digital currency analysis of the central bank indicates that much more work is needed to make a digital peso a possibility.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas confirmed in the summer that it was looking into the feasibility and potential policy implications of issuing its own CBDC, or digital counterpart to the physical peso.
In a press briefing, Diokno allegedly rejected the possibility that a CBDC could be issued any time in the near future. So far, the study suggested that ongoing research is needed to look into capacity-building and the creating of networks between other central banks and financial institutions.
The bank’s study has covered basic issues surrounding CBDCs, focusing on implications for monetary policy, legal frameworks, payments and settlement systems, financial inclusion, and regulatory oversight.
The governor said CBDC research at the BSP might benefit from a review of the business models of digital currencies in the Philippines in the private sector, as well as the use of sandboxes in the industry. The central bank aims to explore how to develop the current payment system in the country and to draw on the CBDC research of other central banks worldwide.
[image: Gabriel Villena]
