Philippines Central Bank Governor: No Digital Peso Before 2023

The central bank won’t pursue a CBDC for the duration of Governor Benjamin Diokno's term, which ends in 2023.

AccessTimeIconOct 22, 2020 at 5:38 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:22 a.m. UTC
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The central bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSG), won't be issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) anytime soon, according to a report by CNN Philippines

BSG Governor Benjamin Diokno told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday the bank wouldn’t pursue a CBDC for the duration of his term, which ends in 2023.

  • The announcement follows an exploratory study the central bank conducted into the viability of a state-backed digital currency. Diokno said much more work needs to be done before a digital peso can be issued. 
  • "Most central banks say they will not issue [a] CBDC in the next five years, so not within my term," said Diokno, according to the report. 
  • CBDCs have received a lot of attention from central banks worldwide recently, and in the case of the Bahamas has actually released one, the sand dollar. The International Monetary Fund recently issued a report noting that while a CBDC may help some countries gain more control over their monetary systems, it would not qualitatively change the economic forces that determine international currency usage. 

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