The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is preparing to pilot a stablecoin-based settlement system aimed at reducing the cost and processing time of cross-border payments to Filipinos.
The bank is working with digital clearinghouse Meridian to develop the payment rail, which will initially handle payroll credits for freelancers, virtual assistants, and other workers in the informal economy who receive income from abroad.
Stablecoins are digital tokens typically pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar. In cross-border transactions, they can be used as settlement instruments before the funds are converted into local currency and credited to a recipient’s bank account.
BPI said the system is intended to shorten the process of receiving dollar-denominated payments while retaining the safeguards applied to conventional banking transactions.
“Filipinos move billions of pesos every year, and it is our responsibility to make sure that their money arrives faster, cheaper, and just as securely as it does today. Exploring stablecoin rails is a natural extension of BPI’s digitalization strategy and customer focus,” BPI president and CEO TG Limcaoco said.
The pilot will focus on inbound payments, including salaries and other earnings received by Filipinos from overseas. BPI said it plans to make the service available more broadly to its clients ahead of the 49th ASEAN Summit in November.
The initiative comes as banks, fintech companies, and remittance providers increasingly examine stablecoins as an alternative settlement layer for international payments. Traditional cross-border transfers can pass through several intermediary institutions, adding fees and extending processing times.
“BPI is showing what leadership looks like: taking a technology the world is adopting and making it work inside the banking system, safely, for the benefit of every client. We are proud to power it together,” Meridian president and CEO Will Haering said.
BPI said it would coordinate the pilot with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and operate within existing regulatory frameworks.
The bank added that any wider rollout would depend on compliance with consumer-protection requirements, transparency over stablecoin reserves, and other regulatory safeguards.
