The Central Bank of the Philippines intends to continue the CBDC study designated as “Project CBDC-Ph.”
In the opening remarks of the virtual knowledge-sharing program between the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Governor of the BSP Benjamin Diokno spoke about the “Project CBDC-Ph.” His statement is published in the transcript of the speech.
According to Diokno, the Central Bank of the Philippines is trying to build organizational capacity and acquire knowledge of CBDC design, architecture, technology, and policy implications. The BSP already published a comprehensive research report on CBDCs in 2020.
However, the BSP has no plans for the practical implementation of a CBDC in the foreseeable future, as Dionko told BusinessWorld in an interview in early February. He said the Filipino population is still heavily dependent on cash, despite effective and efficient domestic payment systems.
In his remarks, the manager also cited revealing statistics compiled by the ASEAN Macroeconomic Research Office:
- 3 central banks have launched CBDCs for commercial use;
- 14 countries have launched or completed pilot testing of CBDCs;
- 16 states are in the concept development or proof-of-concept stage;
- 40 countries are currently conducting CBDC studies.
This data is as of December 2021 and reflects the great interest in CBDC projects worldwide.
