Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working on Project Agila for wholesale central bank digital currency trials (wCBDC) trials. During a press briefing on the topic, Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said he expected the wCBDC to go live within the term of new BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr which runs until 2029. FinTech News reported that the launch would be early in the term.
The purpose of the current trials is to help both the central bank and ten participating commercial banks to go up the learning curve.
The Deputy Governor outlined three uses cases. The highest priority requirement is for interbank settlement on weekends and holidays. Another is the settlement of securities. And a third is cross border payments. Notably, the BSP is an observer of the mBridge project involving the BIS and the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Last year the bank selected Hyperledger Fabric for its trials. This May and June it conducted the first trials of the technology and the tokenization of central bank money. The second sandbox tests will explore programmable payments. By the end of the year, the central bank expects to release a report on its findings.
“This an entirely new thing and we have to make sure that we can offer it, maintain it and operate it safely, and that the banks can do likewise and that they have a business use case for it,” said Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, according to PhilStar.
