The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has made significant strides in promoting digital or e-payments in the Philippines, with 42.1 percent of payment transactions transitioning to digital by the end of 2022.
This figure represents a notable improvement from the 30.3 percent recorded in the previous year, underscoring the country’s progress in embracing digital financial solutions.
The BSP’s efforts align with its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, which aims to digitalize around 50 percent of payment transactions by volume by 2023. In terms of value, digital payments accounted for 40.1 percent of total retail payments in the country, reaching a substantial $78 billion.
Outgoing BSP Governor Felipe Medalla expressed optimism regarding the country’s trajectory, saying that it is moving in the right direction towards achieving the goal of converting at least half of the total retail payments volume into digital format by the end of the year.
Data from the BSP’s e-payments report showed that the 42.1 percent figure represents the proportion of monthly digital payments relative to the total monthly retail payments volume in the country. Retail payment volume witnessed a surge of 611.7 million transactions in the past year, reflecting the growing acceptance and adoption of digital payment methods.
The rapid growth of digital transactions can be attributed to the widespread utilization of platforms such as InstaPay and PESONet. Furthermore, the increasing popularity of QR Ph codes for payments is evident, with more individuals opting for this convenient and secure payment method.
The successful migration of more transactions to digital platforms can be attributed to various factors, including the adoption of digital payments by merchants, the convenience of peer-to-peer (P2P) remittances, and the digitization of business payments for employee salaries and wages. These payment streams primarily consist of high-frequency, low-value retail transactions, contributing to the overall growth of digital payments in the country.
