The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signed a memorandum of understanding on April 14, 2026 to integrate their instant payment platforms. CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama and BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. signed the agreement during a virtual ceremony.
The agreement commits both authorities to enable cross-border payment transactions by integrating Aani and InstaPay, the respective national instant payment systems. The central banks will also consider interlinking national card switches and financial messaging systems in a later phase.
The MoU covers cooperation on central bank digital currency platforms for both retail and institutional use cases. BSP highlighted improved remittance channels for the Filipino diaspora in the UAE as a core benefit of the arrangement.