Coffeetable Blog

I am in Cebu City today, as part of a group from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or the Central Bank of the Philippines. Tomorrow, I will be one of the resource speakers on BSP's Public Information Campaign, which is part of the continuing activities of BSP's Economic and Financial Learning Center. My role is to discuss the topic of electronic money, which has been my exposure for about a year now, and continues to be part of my activities as one of the Bank Officer of BSP. The rest of the speakers will have topics ranging from microfinance, payment systems, and recent economic developments. Each of us will have fifteen minutes to discuss our part, which will be followed by an open forum after all the speakers have finished their presentations.

I find it worthwhile being able to share to people (our audience of 150 will come from business, academe, and local government sectors) what I know of this aspect of the financial system and somehow encourage them to further their financial education. Especially when you realize that the Philippines is considered at the forefront of mobile commerce (m-commerce), of which electronic money is an integral part of. I had the chance to discuss this topic, along with internet banking, to study groups coming from Indonesia, Cambodia, and other Southeast Asian countries, who are eager to find out how we have been successful in the implementation of m-commerce. I even had the chance to go to Chennai, India to share my knowledge and experience on m-commerce to a group of policymakers and leaders of grassroots microfinance organizations.

Aside from the topic itself, speaking engagements like this provide me with opportunity to develop my presentation and interpersonal skills. And the ensuing activities, like the business dinner later, provide opportunities to network and further my knowledge, gaining insights from industry leaders themselves and somehow channel this knowledge to help out my superiors in crafting better regulations and policies.

Of course, there's also the fun of being able to go around the country for free. I've never been to Cebu, and I look forward to the experience.

I will have some posts in the future here on the key areas of my presentation in Cebu. If you have some questions or queries related to the above or other financial matters, you may leave a comment which can help me in deciding what and how to write about financial topics in the future.

You may want to check out my other posts related to finance and investment HERE.