Philippines' BPI is pushing a pilot to settle overseas remittances using stablecoins for freelancers, virtual assistants and others who receive income from abroad.
Cointelegraph reported on Thursday that BPI is preparing a payment system to cut the time and cost of processing inbound funds.
The system will be developed with global digital clearing house Meridian. It will use stablecoins as a settlement instrument, convert the funds into Philippine pesos and deposit them into recipients' BPI accounts. BPI plans to keep the safeguards it applied to existing banking transactions.
The pilot will initially focus on overseas salaries and other overseas income. BPI is reviewing ways to expand the scope before the 49th ASEAN Summit in November.
BPI President and Chief Executive Jose Teodoro Limcaoco (호세 테오도로 림카오코) said reviewing a stablecoin settlement network is an extension of the bank's digitalisation strategy. He said the goal is to send funds faster and more cheaply without compromising security.
BPI will also consult with the Philippines' central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr