Philippines, UK pursue fintech partnership

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United Kingdom have committed to intensify collaboration in financial technology and services, sustainable financing and regulatory reform.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said during a recent courtesy call by British Ambassador Laure Beaufils that the UK government has been instrumental in the Philippines’ efforts to advance responsible digitalization and sustainable finance.

“Thank you for the unwavering commitment to Philippine development. I look forward to further collaboration,” Remolona said.

During the courtesy call, Remolona and Beaufils discussed common interests in financial services, fintech, sustainable financing and regulatory reform.

Beaufils, for her part, said she had a great meeting with the BSP governor.

“We spoke about our common interests in financial services, the strength of the British fintech sector and our programming partnerships on green financing and regulatory reform,” Beaufils said.

In March 2021, Philippine financial agencies, including the BSP, inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the British Embassy of Manila on the Prosperity Fund for the ASEAN Economic Reforms Program (AERP) and the ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Program (ALCEP).

The BSP signed the agreement together with the Department of Finance (DOF), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the Insurance Commission (IC).

Under the deal, the cooperation between the Philippines and the UK were formalized in the areas of capital market development, fintech development, green finance and accounting standards.

The DOF is the lead agency, while the BSP, SEC and IC are co-lead agencies collaborated with the embassy through technical assistance and capacity-building programs.

UK’s Prosperity Fund is a £1.2 billion global fund earmarked to support growth and poverty reduction in partner developing countries.

Financial inclusion is one of BSP’s top advocacies, as well as the collaboration on fintech and open banking as envisioned under the MOU, is also expected to advance the central bank’s thrust to promote greater access to financial products and services.