Philippine central bank concludes wholesale CBDC testing [Video]

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced it has concluded testing for Project Agila, an initiative that allows financial institutions (FIs) to facilitate large-value fund transfers beyond traditional banking hours.

According to the BSP, this capability extends to evenings, weekends, and holidays, leveraging open-source distributed ledger technology (DLT) supported by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. highlighted the transformative potential of the project, stating, “Wholesale CBDCs are expected to enhance liquidity management, reduce settlement risks, and support financial stability.”

The central bank said the pilot phase involved rigorous testing of functionality, performance, security, and programmability, ensuring the system’s readiness to enhance the country’s financial ecosystem.

Harnessing wholesale CBDCs

Project Agila represents a proof-of-concept (PoC) for the central bank digital currency (CBDC) at the wholesale level. This digital form of currency is denominated in the Philippine peso and issued directly by the BSP. Wholesale CBDCs are envisioned to streamline interbank payments, cross-border transactions, and securities settlements.

“Insights …