The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) says digital payments reached 64.7% of the country’s retail payment volume last year, already inside its 60-to-70-% target for 2028.

QR Ph transactions overtook debit and credit card payments for the first time that year, a shift the central bank ties to its push for account interoperability across banks and e-wallets, according to a BSP statement reported by the Philippine News Agency.

Digital payments rose from 57.4% of retail volume in 2024, according to the BSP’s 2025 Report on the Status of Digital Payments in the Philippines.

The report links the increase to a 69.4% rise in digital payment accounts and a 36.3% increase in merchant locations accepting digital payments.

A total of 2.47 billion QR Ph transactions worth PHP 1.16 trillion were processed during the year, the first time the interoperable QR system outpaced card payments.

PESONet transfers also overtook cheque payments in 2025, pointing to wider use of electronic fund transfers for both business and personal transactions.

“A lot of the growth is due to our insistence on interoperability, ensuring that a growing number of businesses and service providers are on one system,” said BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. “That brings in more users, which makes the network more valuable for everyone in it, including consumers, businesses, banks, e-wallets, and other platforms.”

BSP Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald Abenoja presented the figures during a Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing at the House of Representatives on August 17, as the government finalised the 2027 national budget, according to BusinessWorld.

The central bank expects digital payments to keep growing under Circular No. 1238, which requires that fees for transfers between different banks or e-wallets not differ materially from fees charged for transfers within the same institution.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by stockotaku via Magnific.