The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reported a significant rise in the share of digital payment transactions to total monthly retail payments in the Philippines, increasing from 42.1% in 2022 to 52.8% in 2023, according to its 2023 Report on E-Payments Measurement.
This growth in digital transactions aligns with the BSP goal of digitalising 50% of payment volumes under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2018-2023.
“We take pride in this achievement as proof that our pursuit of a cash-lite economy has consistently been progressing. We owe this to our citizens who are the foremost beneficiaries of a safe, efficient, and inclusive digital payments system,”
said the central bank’s Governor Eli M. Remolona.
In terms of value, the latest e-payments measurement revealed that the share of monthly digital payments to total transactions rose to 55.3% in 2023 from 40.1% in 2022.
The growth in e-payments was driven by merchant payments, which constituted 64.9% of monthly digital payments volume, followed by person-to-person transfers at 19.3%, and business-to-business supplier payments at 6.1%.
This increase in digital transactions is mirrored by the growing ownership of transaction accounts, primarily e-money accounts, which are increasingly being used for payments.
With the progress in digital payments adoption, the BSP says that, in collaboration with the payment industry, it is well-placed to further advance digital payments and empower Filipino businesses and consumers to actively contribute to economic growth.
“When Overseas Filipinos conveniently send remittances at faster and cheaper rates; when businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises, accept e-payments and transact with suppliers and billers digitally; and when every Juan and Maria’s preferred mode of payment is digital – these represent the fulfilment of BSP’s vision of a safe, efficient, reliable and inclusive payment system,”
explained Governor Remolona.
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
