The Philippine bank aims to cut the cost and settlement time of cross-border payments to freelancers and virtual assistants, with a broader rollout targeted before the 49th ASEAN Summit.
Bank of the Philippine Islands plans to test a stablecoin-based settlement rail for cross-border payments to Filipino freelancers, virtual assistants and other workers earning income from abroad. The pilot, being developed with global digital clearinghouse Meridian, is designed to speed up inbound transfers and lower costs while keeping the safeguards associated with traditional banking transactions. Under the proposed setup, stablecoins would act as the settlement instrument before funds are converted into Philippine pesos and credited to recipients’ BPI accounts. BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said the effort fits the bank’s broader digitalization strategy and is meant to deliver faster, cheaper payments without compromising security. The initial phase will center on payroll and other overseas earnings, with a wider launch planned ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit in November. The project will proceed in coordination with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, while any broader rollout will hinge on consumer protection, stablecoin reserve transparency and other regulatory safeguards. The move comes as Philippine regulators tighten oversight of digital assets: in June, the BSP imposed stricter due-diligence requirements on licensed virtual asset service providers and said stablecoin-related assessments may need to cover reserves, redemption rights, issuance and burning mechanisms, and the quality of backing assets. Separately, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has continued using its Strategic Regulatory Sandbox to test digital-asset products, with four companies admitted so far, including BlockShoals Technologies, which later received final approval to begin testing with Binance as its global crypto-asset service provider partner. The BSP subsequently said neither BlockShoals nor Binance currently holds a Philippine virtual asset service provider license and stressed that sandbox participation does not replace separate licensing requirements. The development also adds to wider stablecoin adoption in the country after Coins.ph expanded its peso-backed PHPC stablecoin to the Ronin blockchain in 2024.