Photo courtesy of eCompareMo.com
MANILA -- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday said the BSP is committed in supporting "beneficial" financial technology (fintech) innovations by creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment for promoting financial innovation and inclusion.
In his speech during the forum "Finovation 2019: Real Problems, Real Solution" held at the Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City, Diokno said the main challenge is "to strike a balance between promoting and enabling a policy and regulatory environment for emerging financial innovations and ensuring consumer protection, security, and financial stability."
"We aim to establish a forward-looking approach to ensure that regulatory and supervisory frameworks are in tune with emerging trends and developments," he noted.
Diokno said the BSP recognizes the significant role that fintech plays in driving the transformation of the traditional processes in the financial system through technology-driven innovations to address financial inclusion barriers.
"We aim to develop a digital finance ecosystem that supports the diverse needs of all users in a manner that is secure, sustainable, convenient, and affordable," he added.
To support this goal, Diokno said the BSP established the National Retail Payment System (NRPS), which is the flagship program of the Central Bank for digital finance.
Through the NRPS, regulated institutions are required to adopt transparent and fair market pricing of electronic payments, transition from exclusive bilateral to multi-party clearinghouse agreements, and provide electronic fund transfer facilities in all available channels, among others.
"The BSP has identified the responsible promotion of fintech as a priority agenda, thus, the establishment of a fintech roadmap covering collaborative engagements, commensurate regulations and capacity building," he said.
"By collaborative engagements, we mean maintenance of active multi-stakeholder collaboration. This is necessary in view of the multiplicity of players and multi-layered relationships among fintechs innovators and varied incumbent financial sector players. It represents a 'whole-of-government approach', ensuring policy consistency and preventing regulatory arbitrage," he said.
Diokno said the BSP has implemented key policy changes promoting a level playing field and ensuring that beneficial innovations are not hampered by unwarranted and excessive compliance requirements.
For capacity build-up, he said the BSP continues to provide training and learning opportunities to fast-track the development process to ensure that financial supervisors maintain the necessary knowledge, proficiency and competence to keep pace with the fast-evolving innovations.
Finovation, organized by eCompareMo.com, is an annual forum that facilitates roundtable discussions covering topics from consumer behavior, industry-wide challenges, to regulatory initiatives. (PNA)
