On February 06, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) co-chaired the 26th meeting of the ASEAN Central Banks’ Working Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (WC-PSS) in Bali, Indonesia.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the central banks of the ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and a number of institutions, including the ASEAN-USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) and the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA).
In the period of 2022 - 2024, the SBV assumes the co-chairmanship of the WC-PSS together with the Bank of Thailand (BOT). The SBV, together with the BOT, had coordinated with the WC-PSS members to discuss about the Committee's priorities in 2023, including: (i) Building a roadmap for ASEAN multilateral payment connectivity; (ii) Developing a way to measure the achievements of the G20 goals on cross-border payments; and (iii) Organizing capacity building activities based on the members' needs in the form of workshops/ capacity building activities within the framework of the WC-PSS meetings in 2023.
Following that, the ABA provided some update and discussed with the WC-PSS members about 2 initiatives supported by the ABA, including: (i) A guide to good practices for cross-border payments with QR codes; and (ii) Building an ASEAN data connection framework in order to promote the cross-border data flows in a safe way for banking and financial institutions in the ASEAN through the establishment of standards on sharing of interconnected data.
In April 2022, at the ASEAN Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, the ASEAN Central Banks’ Governors had requested to establish a common platform/ technical infrastructure for multilateral payment. The WC-PSS members spent time during the meeting to discuss and reached a high level of consensus on giving priority to the coordination and implementation of a variety of initiatives, such as developing policies, roadmaps, implementation plans; partnering with non-regional partners towards strengthening the cross-border payment connectivity in the region.
Delegates attending the 26th meeting of the ASEAN WC-PSS.
In the capacity building session, a representative from the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) shared about the BSP’s recent innovations in the field of payment, the issues related to digital payment, and the monitoring of the use of virtual assets in the Philippines. In addition, the members of the WC-PSS also discussed and agreed to review the Committee's activities in order to consider adding the task of implementing new activities in line with the current cooperation practices, as well as the general development trends in the payment area, including the cross-border payment connectivity.
Toward the end of the meeting, the members agreed on the contents to be reported at the ASEAN Senior-Level Committee (SLC) for Financial Integration to be held in March 2023 in Indonesia. The members also made high appreciation for the co-Chairs’ arrangements to include very practical and relevant contents in the meeting agenda, suitable to the current needs of all members to promote and develop payment activities. They also committed to actively working together to effectively implement the Committee's priorities in 2023.
The WC-PSS co-Chairs thanked and complimented the WC-PSS members for their active participation and good recommendations throughout the discussion sessions, as well as during the implementation of the new cooperation initiatives in order to catch up with the development trends and practices around the world.
LK