MAS, BSP ink enhanced fintech cooperative agreement

Singapore and Philippines' remittance flows totalled S$2.89b last year.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have signed a fintech cooperative agreement (CA) to facilitate interoperable payments between Singapore and the Philippines.

The CA will reportedly facilitate the linkage of both countries’ real-time and QR payment systems, to provide instant, seamless and low-cost cross-border payments, according to a press release.

Remittance flows between Singapore and the Philippines totalled S$2.89b in 2020, and prior to the pandemic, approximately 900,000 travellers travelled between the two countries yearly.

Both central banks will also explore multilateral interoperability of these projects, in keeping with regional efforts to establish further linkages within ASEAN and with countries outside the region, the joint statement said.