The Philippines and India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance fintech cooperation between both countries.
The MOU was signed by Philippines’ Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and Ambassador of India to the Philippines Shambhu Santha Kumaran at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila.
The MOU directs the constitution of a Joint Working Group (JWG) to facilitate inter-governmental discussions on the exchange of best practices to improve policies and regulatory connection.
It also aims to promote cooperation in the development of fintech solutions for business or financial sectors as well as develop international standards by encouraging the creation of an international version of Application Programming Interfaces (API).
Benjamin E. Diokno
“Today’s event marks an important milestone in the bilateral relations of India and the Philippines—just in time for the upcoming 5th Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation set to take place in New Delhi, India a few days from now.
On the one hand, India is a rising economic powerhouse, with a forte in digital technology. On the other, the Philippines hosts a young and tech-savvy talent pool that can provide the intellectual capital needed to succeed in the digital economy. Clearly, the possibilities between our two economies are boundless.”
Secretary Diokno said.
Kumaran
“In India, for the past seven years, we have seen an exponential growth in digital payments.
Currently we are at the level of a hundred billion digital payments a year, with the flagship UPI itself – unified payments interface – itself becoming one of the primary drivers of a cashless, digitalized economy,”
said Ambassador Kumaran.
