More banks launching QR payment facilities

MANILA, Philippines — More banks are launching payment facilities using quick response (QR) codes as the government ramps up efforts to transform the Philippines into a cash-lite instead of cash heavy economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

BSP Assistant Governor Iluminada Sicat said in her presentation during the virtual 18th Development Policy Research Month, 12 more BSP-supervised financial institutions are expected to launch their QR payment facility this year, further expanding the line up to about 20 participants.

Sicat said there was a 1,214 percent jump in the volume of QR transactions as of end- June when the person-to-person transactions by scanning a standard QR code was launched less than a year ago.

In terms of value, she said QR transactions reported an exponential 1,374 percent jump.

The use of QR codes for payments has been gaining traction as an alternative to the traditional debit and credit card payments. The QR technology has emerged as the most expedient means of payment since it essentially entails code scanning, which is faster and easier to do than bringing out a card, tapping, dipping or swiping it, and signing a charge slip in most cases.

Likewise, consumers benefit having faster, easier and cheaper payment options with greater convenience.

The BSP is set to introduce the person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions via QR Ph, soon complementing the person-to-person (P2P) transactions launched last November.

Sicat also noted a 688 percent jump in the volume and 799 percent surge in value under the government electronic payment (EGov Pay) facility.

Around 180 government entities are expected to be onboard the facility by the end of this year. Participating agencies right now include the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine National Police (PNP), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and various local government units.

There are also around 65 government agencies now using the electronic portal of state-run Land Bank of the Philippines from only two when EGov Pay facility was launched last November.

Both EGov Pay and QR Ph uses fund transfers via PESONet and InstaPay, the automated clearing houses under the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) launched in December 2015.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno has committed to raise the share of digital payments to 50 percent of the total transactions and to 70 percent the number of Filipino adults with bank accounts by the end of his term in 2023.

“The BSP is setting the stage for the rise of the new economy, centered on the use of electronic payments and settlements,” Sicat said.

Latest survey from the United Nation’s Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) showed the share of e-payments from total transactions increased to 10 percent in 2018 from only one percent in terms of volume and to 20 percent from eight percent in terms of value.

The 2019 financial inclusion survey report of the BSP showed 51.2 million Filipino adults remain unbanked due to lack of enough money, lack of documentary requirements and refusal to open a bank account.