The Bank of the Philippine Islands, or BPI, is moving ahead with a plan to test stablecoin payments for cross-border transactions. The pilot will focus on freelancers, virtual assistants, and other workers who receive income from overseas. Local media outlets like ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer first reported the news.
BPI is working with Meridian, a global digital clearinghouse, to build the system. The idea is to cut costs and speed up inbound payments while keeping the safeguards that come with traditional banking. Stablecoins will act as a settlement tool. Once the funds arrive, they will be converted to Philippine pesos and credited to the recipient’s BPI account.
Why stablecoins?
Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, BPI’s president and CEO, said the stablecoin rail is a natural next step for the bank’s digital strategy. He mentioned that the goal is to deliver funds faster and cheaper without sacrificing security. It sounds straightforward enough, but I imagine there are plenty of regulatory hurdles ahead.
The pilot will start with payroll and other overseas earnings. BPI plans to expand the program before the 49th ASEAN Summit in November. That timeline seems ambitious, but perhaps the bank has been working on this quietly for a while.
Regulatory coordination
BPI said it will coordinate with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s central bank. Any wider rollout will depend on consumer protection rules, stablecoin reserve transparency, and other regulatory safeguards. That makes sense—stablecoins have had a mixed reputation, so authorities will likely want to ensure everything is above board.
I think this pilot could be meaningful for the Philippines, where remittances and freelance payments are a big part of the economy. If BPI can pull it off, it might set an example for other banks in the region. But we’ll have to see how the tests go first.
