Deputy Governor (DG) Mamerto E. Tangonan is the head of the Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is tasked to address the interplay between digital money and physical currency, and support the digital transformation of the country’s financial services.  He leads the PCMS in maintaining the safety and integrity of the Philippine currency, as well as ensuring a well-functioning payments and cash ecosystem that fosters long-term economic growth. 

DG Tangonan brings with him over 28 years of experience in digital and traditional financial services, telecommunications, technology, financial inclusion, and consulting services. Immediately before joining the BSP, he led a six-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded program on the E-PESO project aimed at accelerating the shift of the Philippine economy from cash to digital payments. In this capacity, he spearheaded a team in providing technical assistance to the BSP in policy formulation and implementation of the National Retail Payments System (NRPS). 

Earlier, he handled initiatives such as the USAID-funded “Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money” to expand financial inclusion by boosting the adoption and usage of mobile money; the development of a Digital Financial Services-enabled agriculture value chain information system in Tanzania; and the engagement with Bank of Indonesia to obtain e-money license for Indonesian-based PT Smart Telecom. 

Moreover, he led a team in providing support to the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the collection of taxes via e-payments and working with local government units (LGUs) to build a mobile money ecosystem that led to the adoption of digital payments for disbursement and collections by USAID partner LGUs. He also served as general manager of PT Smart Telecom; director of Globe Telecom, Inc. where he handled the project management of G-Cash mobile banking project for rural banks; and first vice president of ING Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. 

DG Tangonan earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of the Philippines and his Executive Master in Business Administration degree from the Asian Institute of Management.  He also attended the executive education program on financial inclusion policy design at the Harvard Kennedy School.