TRANSITION TO DIGITAL CASH: GCash, the top e-wallet in the Philippines, has helped transition the country to digital payments. Even in rural areas, grabbing groceries via GCash or PayMaya has increasingly become more common. With the pandemic, it has ushered in a spike in cashless, contactless and fast transactions — to the tune of at least Php1 trillion ($20 billion) in 2020.
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SPIKE IN CASH-LESS TRANSACTIONS: Despite the low credit card penetration rate, or perhaps because of it, digital payments are spiking in the Philippines, helped in some ways by the coronavirus pandemic.
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CASH IS KING? Most Filipinos still believe that “Cash is king.” That may no longer hold true in the coming days, with the rise in e-payments, making the transition to digital economy happen. The World Bank says fewer than one in 50 Filipinos are credit card owners. According to industry estimates, four in 10 internet users use a mobile wallet service. But e-wallets are bypassing the needs for plastic money.
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TOP E-WALLETS: In the Philippines digital payments scene, the pole position belongs to GCash (of Globe Telecom) followed by PayMaya (mobile wallet entry of Globe's rival telco company, PLDT). Others include CoinsPH, GrabPay, PayPal, 7-Eleven CLIQQ Rewards, BanKO, and Moneygment. The ranking is based on downlaods for finance apps on the App Store and Google Play downloads. BSP, the country's central bank, has set a target of 30% increase in digital payments by 2020, by roping in more consumers, SMEs and government through simple, safe solutions. The Smart Padala agent network is also part of that ecosystem.
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TRANSITION TO DIGITAL CASH: A nigh-time scene at the Mall of Asia complex, which hosts the region's biggest retail destination and numerous fulfillment and "call centres". E-wallet providers have helped transition the country to a digital payments, so that even in rural areas, payments for groceries via e-wallets is increasingly becoming more common. With the pandemic, it has ushered in a spike in cashless, contactless and fast transactions — to the tune of Php1 trillion ($20 billion) in 2020.
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MEDICAL SERVICES: PCR tests and health services, are increasingly being grabbed by the e-wallet space, bypassing the plastic money payment infrastructure. e-wallets allow the economy and healthcare systems to move faster, safer: for example, PCR tests for travellers can now be only paid in digital currency, mostly via GCash in the Philippines.
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TRADITION AND GROWTH. E-commerce has seen unprecedented growth over the last five years in the Asian country. A lone "calesa" in a sea of internal-combustion-engine vehicles serves tourists.
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DISRUPTING TRANSPORT: This EV charger next to a McDonalds shop in Manila accepts both cash and e-wallet payments.
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DIGITAL PAYMENTS FOR TAXIS: Grab, the Southeast Asian region's leading ride-hailing app, accepts credit card payment, but many users still pay in cash. The QR code payment system, however, is pulling an increasing number of adherents.
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MERCHANTS: Ministop and 7-11 are two of the more popular convenience stores in the country wired up for e-wallet transactions. According to GCash CEO and president Martha Mazon, over 600,000 merchants and online sellers had set up shop and used the facility during the pandemic — making the mobile wallet the dominant primary mode of payment. For shopping, buyers spent over Php6 billion on e-commerce websites in the Philippines via GCash. Banking services are also increasingly moving from face-to-face, brick-and-mortar mode to digital.
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SAVING, BORROWING, DONATING: GCash has also become a way to saving, borrowing and donating funds. As of November 2020, there were 3 million GSave accounts opened. Meanwhile, over P8 billion was loaned to more than 900,000 Filipinos through GCredit in 2020. Filipinos used the mobile wallet to donate over P40 million for relief operations. A street food scene along Roxas Boulevard.
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SAFE AND SANE: E-wallets kept “Filipinos safe and sane during the pandemic,” said Sazon. Users donated more than P40 million for COVID-19 and typhoon relief in 2020. A scene inside a Quiapo-bound "Jeepney", with makeshift separators between passengers made of plastic. Last-mile transport in the Philippines is still predominantly a cash-based affair.
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GREEN CASH: “GCash Forest”, which now has over 6.7 million users, also collect “green energy” points, which can be used to plant a tree in forest and watersheds. The World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines recently completed the reforestation of 75 hectares in Ipo Watershed through the adopted trees of GCash Forest, the company reported. Trees line the streets of Manila. Photo shows a scene on Roxas Boulevard.
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BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY: Mynt, which operates GCash, is a partnership between Globe Telecom (owned by the Philippines’ Ayala Corp and Singpore’s Singtel), and China’s Ant Financial of China. There's an increasingly likelihood cash could be disrupted by the likes of Ant. A money-changer in Malate, a district of Manila.
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PLATFORM: Ant Financial, is an affiliate of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group. Ant’s blockchain is today China’s largest blockchain platform, able to process and support one billion user accounts and one billion transactions every day. It has topped the global ranking for blockchain patent applications for the past three consecutive years.
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