Digital transactions rise in Philippines amid strict lockdown restrictions

Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-01 17:03:03|Editor: huaxia
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MANILA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Digital transactions in the Philippines continued to rise due to the central bank's efforts to encourage electronic payment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday.

The BSP said the combined transactions through PESONet and InstaPay, two automated clearing houses under the National Retail Payment System, in April this year were higher by 276 percent in volume and 127 percent in value than the figures recorded during the same month in 2020.

PESONet is a batch electronic fund transfer (EFT) that can be considered an electronic alternative to the paper-based check system. InstaPay is a real-time and low-value EFT for transactions amounting to up to 50,000 pesos (roughly 1,047 U.S. dollars) and is useful for e-commerce.

Furthermore, the BSP said the volume and value of QR Ph person-to-person (P2P) payments in April this year increased by 23 percent and 38 percent, respectively, compared to the figure posted a month earlier.

The BSP also revealed that 82 BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) participated in PESONet and 52 in InstaPay as of the end of April 2021.

"The data are encouraging," the BSP said. "These indicate the sustained adoption of digital payments in the country."

"The preference of consumers for safety in their financial transactions, coupled with the readiness of the BSFIs to offer digital payment choices that are safe, convenient, and affordable, will continue to support the widespread use of digital payments," the BSP added. Enditem

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