The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen financial cooperation, develop financial infrastructure, and support stronger bilateral trade and economic ties between the UAE and the Philippines. The MoU focuses on enabling seamless cross-border payments through integration of the two jurisdictions’ instant payment platforms, while also considering a future option to interlink national card switches and financial messaging systems to streamline processing and settlement and improve interoperability and operational efficiency. The cooperation also covers exchanging expertise on central bank digital currency platforms for individuals and institutions, collaboration on fintech priorities including open finance and digital assets, and joint work to support the development of the Islamic banking and finance industry; the BSP linked the payments agenda to more efficient remittance channels for Filipinos in the UAE.
Central Bank of the UAE 2026-04-14
Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates signs MoU with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on instant payment integration, CBDC and Islamic finance cooperation
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen financial cooperation, develop financial infrastructure, and support stronger bilateral trade and economic ties. The agreement prioritises integration of instant payment platforms, potential interlinking of national card switches and financial messaging systems, and cooperation on central bank digital currency, open finance, digital assets, and Islamic banking, with benefits for remittance channels for Filipinos in the UAE.