More public markets, transport using cashless payments – BSP

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) continues to ramp up the launch of cashless payments in public markets and transportation services in more provinces nationwide.

Through its partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the BSP launched the Paleng-QR Ph Plus at the Mandaue City public market as part of its initiatives to promote digital payments in markets, public transport and other establishments.

In a recorded video message, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. welcomed Mandaue City’s participation in the program, which provides a fast, convenient and safe way of making payments.

“(Paleng-QR Ph Plus) aims to strengthen the financial resilience of Filipinos and help them maximize economic opportunities through inclusion in the formal financial system,” Remolona said.

Aside from Mandaue, the initiative has been launched in the cities of Bacolod, Victorias, Baguio, Davao, Naga, Tagbilaran, Pasig, Lapu-Lapu, and Bacolod as well as the towns of Camiling in Tarlac and Carmona in Cavite.

Charina de Vera-Yap, officer-in-charge for Financial Inclusion and Consumer Empowerment Sub-Sector at the BSP, said the city’s efforts to pass an ordinance adopting Paleng-QR Ph Plus would enable the people of Mandaue to benefit from cashless transactions.

“With the implementation of Paleng-QR Ph Plus in your city, Mandauehanons can now use their transaction account for purchases and acceptance of payments as a buyer or a vendor, which helps build their digital financial footprint,” she said.

She added that the program leads to access to other welfare-enhancing financial services, such as formal credit, via digital way as well as access to savings, insurance and investments.

The City Government of Mandaue, with assistance from participating financial service providers, organized an account opening drive and printed the participants’ respective QR Ph codes.

The BSP also conducted its Piso Caravan to help Mandauehanons replace their unfit and mutilated currency with fit banknotes and coins or e-money. The Piso Caravan supports the central bank’s Clean Note and Coin Policy as well as coin recirculation program.

The Paleng-QR Ph Plus is one of the priority programs under the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022-2028, the guiding framework for all stakeholders working together to accelerate financial inclusion in the country.

The program is also in line with the BSP’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023, which aims to transform half of the volume of retail payments in the country into digital form and onboard 70 percent of Filipino adults to the formal financial system this year.

With the COVID-19 restrictions serving as catalyst, the share of digital payments to total retail transactions further increased to 42.1 percent last year after accelerating to 30.3 percent in 2021 from 20.1 percent in 2020.