Coins.ph CEO: Crypto Payments Will Usher Financial Inclusion in the Philippines
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Cryptocurrencies have the potential to “unveil a new era of financial inclusion in the Philippines and make payments and remittances inexpensive and accessible for all,” according to Wei Zhou, CEO of the local e-wallet and cryptocurrency exchange Coins.ph.
Zhou shared to the attendees of the Law x Tech and Capital Summit held last Nov. 11, 2022 that using crypto, the country can embed finance and usher in a new era of financial inclusion in the Philippines and beyond. He mentioned these during his keynote speech on the emerging trends in blockchain, cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
The summit was attended by top leaders in the legal and financial sectors as well as industry regulators from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Department of Information Communications & Technology, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In Zhou’s speech he highlighted the rise of the Philippines as a global crypto hub and outlined the measures needed to take blockchain adoption to the next level.
“There are a lot of interesting trends emerging here in the Philippines. We have among the healthiest demographic trends in the world, the second-largest population in Southeast Asia, and are among the top 15 globally. We also have one of the largest English-speaking populations in the world. These are massive advantages for us and allow us to become not just followers in global tech trends but also step up to take a leadership position,” Zhou stated.
He stressed that the current surging crypto adoption happening in the country places the Philippines in a prime position to advance its goals of financial inclusion through crypto-powered embedded finance—emphasizing that crypto payments can supplement mobile payments, which are already near-ubiquitous in the country.
In a media release, Coins noted that while the Philippines ranks in the global top three for remittances;, cross-border payments continue to be expensive, inaccessible and take several days. To address this, the firm said they are continuing to set the pace in the remittances sector, a market that’s expected to grow an astonishing 620% by 2024.
The Coins app allows users to send and receive both digital currencies and pesos instantly from everywhere across the globe at a low cost.
“Crypto can transform this sector, providing instant, affordable and secure remittances to every Filipino,” Zhou told the attendees.
Zhou further explained the importance of regulations for a nascent digital asset industry that’s still finding its feet. Recently, Zhou stressed in a panel discussion during the PH Web3 Festival, what would happen if they failed to follow regulations:
“Regulation is the most important topic for crypto over the next few years. This is because technology has run so far ahead, and adoption has followed, leaving regulators scrambling to catch up. I think here in the Philippines, we’re actually quite progressive. Our regulators have provided the two most important things – certainty and transparency. I think we can take a leadership position here in the Philippines and this is what I hope to do with Coins,” he explained.
In another discussion during the Fintech Alliance’s Inclusion and Digital Transformation (INDX) Summit 2.0 held last November 23, Zhou claimed that the Philippines can become the epicenter of global fintech innovation.
This article is published on BitPinas: Coins.ph CEO: Crypto Payments Will Usher in Financial Inclusion in the Philippines
Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.
