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The central bank of Philippines is not yet ready to launch a CBDC.

Philippines' central bank governor announced the rollout of a CBDC project at a joint event that was organized by Bangko Sent
Philippines’ central bank governor announced the rollout of a CBDC project at a joint event that was organized by Bangko Sentral ng Pillipinas (BSP) and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno has announced that the institution’s “exploratory” study of central bank digital currency suggests that much more work is needed to make a digital peso a reality. During the summer, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had confirmed it was investigating the feasibility and potential policy implications of issuing its own digital currency, or the digital counterpart to the physical peso. In a press briefing, Diokno reportedly rejected the possibility that a CBDC could be issued any time in the near future.

The study suggests creating networks between other central banks and financial institutions.

The study so far has suggested that ongoing research is needed to look into capacity-building and the creating of networks between other central banks and financial institutions. So far, 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. However, the governor said that CBDC research at the BSP could benefit from a study of the business models of private-sector digital currencies in the country as well as the use of industry sandboxes.

Central banks continue to explore CBDCs across countries.

The Philippines’ central bank plans to look into how to improve the country’s existing payment system and draw upon other central banks’ CBDC research worldwide. The People’s Bank of China recently finished the biggest trial of its national digital currency and is now planning to issue it to the general public soon. Central banks of many countries are actively working on digital currencies. As reported earlier, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that CBDCs could threaten bitcoin in the future. US Federal bank has also revealed that they are exploring the option of having a national digital currency.

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