28 October 2020 – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno and Department of Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko dialogued with the business community on how to further advance e-payments adoption that was accelerated during the pandemic.  

Governor Diokno led the public sector discussion by presenting the recently launched Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap and the BSP’s efforts to convert more retail payments into digital form, boost financial inclusion, and provide innovative digital financial services. Undersecretary Tionko highlighted the performance of digital tax payments during the pandemic, with over 95% of tax returns (15 million) filed electronically from January to August this year. She also enumerated the steps the government is currently taking such as reducing online transaction costs and developing an e-invoicing system.

The private sector, led by Ayala Group Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala shared their companies’ experience in leveraging e-payments to continue serving customers and supporting employees, and emphasized how critical public-private collaboration is in the so-called “digital payments-enabled recovery”. Jose Victor Paterno (Philippine Seven Corp.), Paolo Azzola (PayMaya), and Martha Sazon (Mynt) also shared their firms’ experience and their views on how to take advantage of the COVID-19 fueled momentum.

The forum is part of a project to help with digitalization, financial inclusion, and the transition to the New Normal. The project aims to facilitate more public-private collaboration as well as accelerate the private sector’s e-payments shift from salaries, to benefits, to sales of goods and services between people, businesses, and government, and to e-invoicing and e-receipts. 

The event was organized by Makati Business Club for USAID’s E-PESO activity. Special thanks to Philippine Payments Management Inc., American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, Financial Executives of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc., Philippine Retailers Association, Semiconductor & Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc., Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, and Philippine Franchise Association.

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