Cebu firms told to lead in the digital economy

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu businesses and consumers are urged to take the lead in embracing the digital payment facilities to fast track the Philippines' bid to capitalize on digital economy.

Global payment brand UnionPay recently introduced its QR Code payment solutions, which has the potential to accelerate the country’s cashless transformation.

 "The payment industry in the Philippines is growing and innovating. Coupled with a rising smartphone penetration rate, the introduction of QR Code payment in the market is timely. QR Code payment has the potential to drive more connections between businesses and consumers through secure and easy-to-use digital payment solutions," said Vincent Ling, Deputy General Manager for UnionPay International Southeast Asia.

In his recent visit to Cebu, Ling expressed confidence that Cebu could lead in the fast transformation of payment transactions from cash-based to digital.

The QR Code payments are considered one of the simplest and efficient ways of replacing cash.

Merchants or consumers simply need to display a single, unique QR code on a mobile banking app or on any printable format for payments. Setup cost involved is minimal for merchants as adopting this e-payment platform do not need installation of point-of-sales (POS) terminals at their stores.

With active smart phone users in the Philippines, and the thick young and tech-savvy population, Ling said the adaption of QR Code enabled payment transactions will not only provide cost-effective and safe way of processing purchases, but it also promotes efficient and time-saving transactions.

With QR Code payment, consumers can make real time transactions easily at merchants that traditionally do not accept electronic payments, including some SMEs and independent businesses. Consumers simply use a mobile banking application that supports QR Code, without the worry of having the exact notes and coins when making purchases.

 With UnionPay's move to deploy more QR Code devices to accommodate the fast growing digital-savvy consumers around the world, allows establishment trail blaze with modern consumerism.

The Chinese payment brand, commits to grow the e-payment space not only in Cebu but across the entire nation, "we look forward to working with the various stakeholders to bring its full benefits to the people here," added Ling.

Meanwhile, UnionPay clarified that loading platforms for the prepaid cards in Sari Sari or convenience stores like 7-Eleven have yet be introduced in the Philippines.

But the prepaid cards will remain to be approved and released by UnionPay's partner banks or financial institutions. Currently, prepaid cards are reloadable via the issuer of the cards.  As part of UnionPay’s strategy to tailor payment solutions that suit local needs, UnionPay is increasing its acceptance network and bolstering card issuance to enable ease of payment for consumers.

In the Philippines, UnionPay partners are Banco de Oro (BDO), Bank of China (BOC), Omnipay, Philippine National Bank (PNB) and RCBC Bankard to provide a wide array of payment products and services.

UnionPay offers a wide range of card privileges to cardholders at any point of time through various UnionPay’s signature global campaigns.