Cebu City explores feasibility of C Peso cryptocurrency

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is exploring the possibility of using a cryptocurrency for cashless transactions in city hall.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with C Pass Inc. to conduct a feasibility study for the use of C Peso in the remittance and payment system for the public transactions in the city government.

“Pagtuon pa lang ni ang atong pagabuhaton together with them because we want our citizens to have a convenient, business-friendly cashless option to settle their transactions with the City Government — sama sa business taxes, real property taxes, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) credits, ug uban pa — pinaagi sa cryptocurrency,” said Labella.

The mayor added that this is a preparation for the “eventual” economic recovery from the pandemic. The results of the feasibility study will be a basis for further development and how we can incorporate it into other commercial uses such as the BRT.

Read: Cashless ticketing in CSBT set to start this April

The C Peso is a stable coin that can be bought to load their digital wallet and is marketed to remove the inconvenience of having to go visit a bank or to a “pera padala” for instance.

The value of the coin should not change regardless of inflation or fluctuation in the common currency. It is said to retain the same value over the years.

Labella said the study will focus on the possibility of using C Peso as a web-based or an app-based remittance and payment system.

“Dako gayod ni og matabang sa atong low-income nga mga kaigsuonan, sa mga OFWs nga mag-remit og kwarta sa pamilya, sa mga turista, ug sa atong foreign investors. I look forward to the results of our feasibility study and the unfolding of this vision for Cebu City,” he added.

/bmjo