The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently won two awards in the Central Banking Fintech and Regtech Global awards.
According to a recent press release, the central bank was recognised in the Artificial Intelligence Initiative category as well as the Data Management Initiative category.
Chatbot – Artificial Intelligence Initiative
The BSP won in the Artificial Intelligence Initiative category for its development of a prototype Chatbot in order to provide the public with a more accessible and efficient means to engage the central bank on financial consumer concerns.
Leveraging on AI and natural language processing (NLP), the Chatbot will be able to adequately and efficiently handle consumer concerns coursed through channels including SMS and social media.
Moreover, the Chatbot is envisioned to equip the central bank with more insight into customer experiences, banking practices and conduct.
These will be used as input to policymaking and supervision, as well as to develop consumers’ trust in the financial system.
The Chatbot is expected to go live in mid-2020.
Prudential reporting system – Data Management Initiative
The BSP also won in the Data Management Initiative category with the development of a prototype API-based prudential reporting system.
This initiative is part of the central bank’s continuing effort to strengthen its supervisory capacity in a rapidly evolving financial services landscape.
It provides a machine-to-machine link between the core banking systems of banks and the system of BSP.
This connection will allow for the streamlined transmission, processing, warehousing, and analysis of the banks’ prudential reports.
This will significantly improve the timeliness, ease, and integrity of data submission.
From a pilot run covering two banks, it was expanded to cover 19 banks.
Preparations are underway to move the system to cover all Universal, Commercial, and Thrift Banks for a total of 96 institutions. The system is expected to go live in the latter part of 2020.
About the Awards
The Awards is organised by a financial publisher specialising in public policy and financial markets, with emphasis on central banks, international financial institutions, and financial market infrastructure and regulation.
Started in 2018, the Awards give recognition to the significant initiatives of central banks and private sector entities in the Fintech and regulatory technology (Regtech) space.
The winners are determined after deliberations by a judging panel composed of industry experts and former central bankers.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno received the two awards on behalf of the central bank.
In his acceptance remarks, the Governor shared that the central bank’s regtech journey has just begun and as with any initiative, they did not imagine receiving recognition or award when they embarked on this journey.
The initiatives were born from the BSP’s commitment to continue building its digital capabilities as a regulator intent on promoting innovations in the financial service sector to benefit the country and the people.