The local financial industry should use technology to bring the benefits of banking to more Filipinos and, in doing so, help the Philippine economy grow faster, a ranking Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said on Thursday.
Speaking during the launch of the Digital Transformation Accelerator Program of the central bank and the financial technology unit of telecommunications giant PLDT, BSP Deputy Governor Cyd Tuaño-Amador noted that an estimated 47 million adults are still unbanked or excluded from the formal financial system.
“The challenge of financial empowerment continues,” she said, explaining that the archipelagic nature of the Philippines’ territory, with more than 7,000 islands and a population of over 100 million people of varied cultural backgrounds also makes greater financial inclusion difficult.
Nonetheless, the BSP official said that regulators have been encouraging private sector players like banks and telecommunications firms to being banking closer to the people through the use of technology, especially the ubiquitous mobile phone.
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Tuaño-Amador quoted studies conducted by the Asian Development Bank estimating that the use of digital technology to promote financial inclusion can raise economic output or GDP by 2-3 percent in the case of the Philippines, and up to 6 percent in other Southeast Asian economies.
“The impact of these technological applications can be significant,” she said. “These are definitely palpable gains in the financial inclusion agenda should they eventuate.”
