AGREEMENT SIGNED. The BSP and the CDA agreed to further strengthen cooperation in supervising the country's cooperatives. The agreement was signed by (from left to right) CDA Board Member Mryla Paradillo, CDA Chairman Joseph Encabo, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., and BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan. (Photo from BSP)
MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) signed on Wednesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to further strengthen their cooperation in supervising cooperatives.
The MOA on “Cooperative Oversight Arrangement” outlines the concurrent oversight and regulatory approach and exchange of information between the BSP and the CDA to facilitate the discharge of their mandates and functions regarding the supervision of covered cooperatives.
BSP head of the Payments and Currency Management Sector, Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, said the agreement would enable qualified cooperatives to participate in the country's national retail payment system.
"With the MOA, both institutions will collaborate to craft implementing guidelines that will allow cooperative members to safely and efficiently send and receive payments to and from banks and e-money issuers," he said.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said cooperatives play a vital role in the society because they provide access to much-needed financial products and services to underserved segments of the population.
"They create employment, they create income generation, and they create access to goods and services that contribute to economic growth. Cooperatives can also be part of our increasingly digital payments landscape," he said.
"As operators of payment systems and electronic money issuers, cooperatives can offer an expanded suite of products and services to their members. Imagine a digital payments ecosystem where 5,793 financial cooperatives in 1,272 municipalities across the country, enable their members to send and receive payments."
Remolona assured the public that the activities of cooperatives, as part of the national payment system, would be subject to regulation and oversight.
Under the National Payment Systems Act, the BSP is mandated to exercise oversight over all payment systems in the Philippines to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the monetary and financial system.
"Our memorandum of agreement sets out the mutually understood arrangement between the BSP and the CDA for exchange of relevant information and cooperation to discharge our respective regulatory responsibilities and statutory functions," Remolona said.
CDA Chairman, Undersecretary Joseph Encabo, meanwhile, said the partnership aims to bring public service to the grassroots level.
"The partnership between CDA and BSP does not only look into the regulatory functions, but it's all about public interest. We want to protect our members in the cooperative sector. The BSP also wants to promote that there are services that will really ensure that their interest is well-served," Encabo said. (PNA)
AGREEMENT SIGNED. Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Joseph Encabo and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. (2nd and 3rd from left, respectively) shake on the agreement to further strengthen their agencies’ cooperation in supervising the country's cooperatives, during the signing ceremony held at the BSP headquarters in Manila on Wednesday (Oct. 18, 2023). The agreement was signed Encabo, Remolana, CDA Board Member Myrla Paradillo (left), and BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan. (Photo from BSP)
