You’d rather? Why or why not?

I’m not a bad cop, I’m a fair cop. In my previous assignment, my role was basically a bank regulator. Why will I be considered a bad cop when all I’m doing is protecting you, as depositors. Maybe, bad boys will consider me a bad cop because I want them to behave so that everyone is safe. If that’s the meaning of bad cop, then I’m happy to be called a bad cop but I think the role of the BSP as a bank regulator should be appreciated in the context that we are just trying to make the system safe and fair for everyone. The reforms are not quite complete. Those reforms have been started. We’ve always said, its “Team BSP.” Team BSP has been doing very well, the captain has retired, so the next one takes over and the team plays on and we finish what we set out to do, again going back to those objectives but also defining new targets that are relevant to society now. We have been actually quite proactive in defining an enabling regulatory environment. In fact, many jurisdictions look to the BSP because we’re one of the pioneers in defining regulations on electronic money, now on virtual currency, and having comprehensive and holistic technology risk-management frameworks. We are on the leading edge in terms of formulating these regulations. The clarity in the regulatory environment is actually the one that encourages new players to come in under very clear rules. You’ll see there’s a lot of FinTech activities in the Philippines right now. The buzz word is digitalization. The strategy is the National Retail Payment System (NRPS). This is the way we execute digitalization. What does the National Retail Payment System do? It creates a policy framework that allows various service providers to inter-operate. Meaning to connect with one another such that money from you, in your account, can be transferred to another account in his/ her own bank. Right now, only those who are part of Bank A ecosystem can transfer money amongst themselves but it’s hard to transfer money to a customer of Bank B if it’s not part of the Bank A group. Under NRPS, it shouldn’t matter. Whatever is your bank — as long as it is a member of this broad, national network — pwede [it is possible]. It’s good for government-to-people ( G2P) and people-to-government (P2G) transfers. Let’s say, if you want — when this is set up — you should be able to pay taxes to government electronically or pay fees and services and the government can pay your salary or cash transfers. Tapos kayo naman [then people] can remit money to one another (P2P). You can also pay business electronically using cards and mobile devices (C2B). So ganun ang vision [that is the vision]. The money doesn’t have to come from your pocket anymore but comes from your bank or ewallet account…

It’s hard to organize people to accept that ecosystem. The natural condition is competition. We’re creating a framework for cooperation. They have to cooperate on the infrastructure, but they can still compete on the products. That’s one challenge. Then the other challenge is cyber-security. There are bad people who will say “Hoy, bagong system ito [Hey, this is a new system]. Let’s do something to take advantage of it.” We keep elevating the standards. That’s why we are trying to upgrade [Circular] 808 and enforcing it, making sure that banks continue to upgrade their own operating standards. We also cooperate with police authorities so that bad people are arrested and punished. It’s a cooperative effort. We are also helping to educate the public in protecting their identity, checking their records. You have certain responsibilities, especially in digital space. So you shouldn’t publish your personal information, because sometimes in social media you may think it’s safe but it’s not, it’s open season. Those are types of things that people should be more aware of — that there are real risks. Actually, there are risks everywhere. Pwede icounterfeit ang cash, puwede kang hold-upin [cash can be counterfeited, or you can be robbed].