SWIFT calls on ASEAN to improve connectivity

Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must improve regional connectivity to achieve the goal of financial inclusion, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) said Tuesday.

"ASEAN member states must aim to improve connectivity, eliminate barriers to the cross-border flows, liberalize services, reduce external dependencies, adopt global standards and extend domestic financial market infrastructure modernization plans towards building regional infrastructure," it said in its Achieving Financial Integration in the ASEAN Region report.

"Addressing the above core problems will go a long way in providing much-needed impetus to regional financial integration and achievement of the goals established in the AEC 2025 Vision," it added.

Brussels, Belgium-based SWIFT is a secured messaging network used by financial institutions such as banks to send money transfer instructions.

"BSP has, in fact, been progressively implementing foreign exchange liberalization and payment system reforms as part of preparations for the AEC," incoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. told GMA News Online.

The Monetary Board has raised the amount of foreign exchange residents may buy without any supporting document, with individuals allowed to buy up to $500,000 and corporate residents up to $1 million.

ASEAN members formalized the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in December 2015, and the AEC 2025 Blueprint which declares financial inclusion as key goal of the bloc.

"Ensuring that the financial sector is inclusive and stable remains a key goal of regional economic integration," the blueprint read.

"The financial sector integration vision for 2025 encompasses three strategic objectives, namely financial integration, financial inclusion, and financial stability," it added.

Former President Benigno Aquino III signed into law the institutionalization of the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee (FISC), the governing body implementing the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI).

Since then, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has implemented reforms to tap the unbanked by enabling cash agents to accept deposits and withdrawals on behalf of Philippine banks.

Espenilla said he is focusing on continuity. "It's all about continuing what we have been doing in the constant surveillance of the monetary and financial system to make sure it is resilient and stable. At the same time, we have increasingly strengthened our commitments to promoting financial inclusion," he said in a recent briefing.

Espenilla will succeed Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. who is set to retire on July 2. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News