National Bank of Cambodia And Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Sign MoU To Increase Financial Cooperation
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 19 August 2024 in Siem Reap to improve the cooperation between the two Southeast Asian central banks with a focus including digital financial innovation, cross-border payment systems, and cybersecurity.
H.E. Dr. Serey Chea, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia and H.E. Eli M. Remolona, Jr., Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas presided over the high-level bilateral meeting in the northwest of Cambodia. The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration between the BSP and NBC and to provide a framework to facilitate and expand their partnership.
The NBC stated online, “The MOU provides a clear framework for the facilitation of bilateral tie and the enhancement of collaboration between the two central banks particularly in the areas of central banking, payment connectivity and innovation, digital financial innovation, banking supervision, human resource development and other areas of mutual interest.”
Reports suggested the meeting discussed macroeconomic trends, advancements in payment systems, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and sustainable finance.
The two central banks agreed to organise annual bilateral meetings. The total trade volume between the Philippines and Cambodia was USD $18.5 billion in 2023
Regional Payment Connectivity Initiative (RPC)
The Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative is a collaboration between central banks in the ASEAN region to create a more efficient, transparent, and inclusive framework for cross-border payments. The initiative was launched in late 2022 by the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, with Vietnam joining in 2023, and Brunei and Laos joining in 2024.
The RPC seeks to improve cross-border payment systems by making transactions faster, cheaper, and more transparent and is also intended to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and streamline trade and remittance transactions.
The 8 central banks are also said to be exploring the possibility of expanding the RPC to include additional economies in Asia and elsewhere. Cambodia is not a member but the National Bank of Cambodia has signed agreements with several countries in the region.