Study Shows 84% of Filipinos Tried Going Cashless in 2021
About 83% of Filipinos are aware of contactless payments while 69 percent have made contactless payments in 2021 (up from 66% in 2020).
The use of cashless payments have been recorded to increase in the Philippines following the wide restrictions with physical contacts and transactions during the pandemic.
In a recent Consumer Payment Attitudes Study conducted by credit card company Visa, it was found out that cashless payments are on the rise in the country with 60% of Filipinos carrying less cash in their wallets and 84% having tried going cashless in 2021.
According to the study, the cashless payment usage in the Philippines is increasing across a variety of payment options. Filipinos’ have a preference to use mobile wallets (64%), card payments online (52%), card payments at physical merchants (44%), and QR payments (31%).
“While cash is still commonplace in the Philippines, the preference for cashless payments is clearly gaining momentum. Our study showed more Filipinos are confident to get by without cash and for longer periods of time – with more than half feeling confident to get by for a week or longer, as cashless payment options grow,” –Dan Wolbert, Visa country Manager for the Philippines and Guam
He also noted that the study found that Filipinos “believe Covid-19 has accelerated the country’s transition to a cashless society by at least three years.”
“Now, 7 out of 10 consumers anticipate that the Philippines can become fully cashless within the next seven to 10 years,” he added.
The result of the study shows that the pandemic played a huge role in bringing Filipinos, with numerous first-time users, to turn to various cashless payment methods, especially mobile wallets and card payments online.
Moreover, contactless payments are seen as an emerging payment method in which consumers showed high interest. About 83% of Filipinos are aware of contactless payments while 69 percent have made contactless payments in 2021 (up from 66% in 2020).
With the pandemic still going, it has continued to be the main reason for the online shopping growth, primarily for digital purchases made via e-commerce apps.
Aside from online shopping, home delivery for home office products, groceries, personal care items, and content platform subscriptions also remained high, with 1/3 of consumers being first-time users.
Seeing the surge for e-payments in the country, in September 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) urged the local fintech firms to seize opportunities presented by the rise in digital transactions and issuance of supportive e-payment policies. (Read more: BSP Urges Fintech to Capitalize on E-payment Surge)
This article is published on BitPinas: Study Shows 84% of Filipinos Tried Going Cashless in 2021
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