Today Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it completed Proof of Concept trials for its Project Agila wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) along with participating financial institutions. Specifically, the latest trial tested whether banks in the Philippines can pay each other outside of bank operating hours during evenings, weekends and holidays.
“Wholesale CBDCs are expected to enhance liquidity management, reduce settlement risks, and support financial stability,” said BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr.
“Insights from this project will guide the BSP’s CBDC roadmap. Our goal is to leverage new technologies to further enhance the efficiency and resilience of the national payment system.”
While the bank hasn’t yet released a report about specific findings, the central bank shared its plans earlier in the year. Many wCBDC trials are quite speculative, but this one is less so. The central bank plans to launch a wCBDC during Mr Remolona’s term, which ends in 2029. It is expected to be sooner rather than later, with 2025 or 2026 previously floated as potential timeframes.
Apart from out of hours payments, the wCBDC will potentially be used for securities settlement and cross border payments. The central bank is an observer in the mBridge DLT cross border payment system used by the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the UAE.
During 2023 the BSP assessed various blockchain technologies, selecting Hyperledger Fabric.
