Digital Payments Surpass 50% of Retail Transactions in the Philippines for 2023

The Philippines has achieved its goal of having digital payments account for more than half of the total monthly retail payments in 2023, driven by increased e-payments to merchants, according to a report released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday.

The 2023 Report on E-Payments Measurement revealed that digital payments accounted for 52.8% of retail payment transactions in 2023. This surpasses the 50% target set under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2018-2023 and marks a significant increase from 42.1% in the previous year.

Out of 5 billion monthly transactions, over 2.6 billion were successfully converted into digital form, reflecting a 28.1% growth from the previous year. The BSP attributed this growth to the widespread adoption of online merchant transactions, person-to-person remittances, and supplier payments by businesses.

“We take pride in this achievement as proof that our pursuit of a cash-lite economy has consistently been progressing,” BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. stated. “We owe this to our citizens who are the foremost beneficiaries of a safe, efficient, and inclusive digital payments system. As we serve their payment needs and deepen financial inclusion, we are ready to bring digital finance to new heights.”

Key Drivers and Statistics

Merchant payments were the primary driver of the increase in digital payments, showing a 128% year-on-year growth to 1.701 billion transactions, which represent 64.9% of the total volume share. Additionally, card payments were digitalized to 60.3%, while QR Ph person-to-merchant transactions reached 58.6 million, amounting to PHP 54.9 billion.

In terms of value, digital payments accounted for $110.544 billion or 55.3% of total retail transactions. This includes person-to-X (P2X) transactions amounting to $64.958 billion, business-to-X (B2X) transactions at $37.043 billion, and government-to-X (G2X) transactions at $8.543 billion.

Future Plans and Vision

Looking ahead, the BSP aims to continue advancing digital payments and enabling local businesses and consumers to contribute more actively to economic growth. “We should not rest on our laurels. Achieving the target is not the end goal. What we would like to see are lives being transformed by our policies,” Remolona emphasized.

He highlighted the importance of convenient, fast, and cost-effective remittances for overseas Filipinos, the ability of micro, small, and medium enterprises to accept e-payments, and the widespread preference for digital payment modes among the general populace as key indicators of success.

Former BSP Governor and current Monetary Board member Benjamin Diokno previously expressed his ambition to have digital payments account for half of all financial transactions by mid-2023. The recent achievement surpasses this goal, marking a significant milestone in the country’s digital transformation journey.