Project Agila will first look at transfers between commercial banks and later try securities settlements and other high-value services.
An official of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) has revealed more details about the central bank’s plans for to study wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), according to a local press report.
BSP deputy governor for payments and currency management sector Mamerto Tangonan told a press conference on March 6 that the wCBDC pilot project, called Project Agila, would be completed by the end of this year. Tangonan called the pilot project a “learning exercise.” Tangonan said:
Six domestic banks — BDO Unibank, China Banking Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Union Bank of the Philippines and Maya Philippines — are taking part in pilot along with the BSP. The project is using the wCBDC to transfer funds among the banks.
