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Why the BSP Is Pushing For National QR Standards

The BSP said the adoption of the National QR Code Standard is a turning point in the country’s digital transformation journey.

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Data shows why the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing for full operation of the National QR Code Standard by the second half of 2021.

In 2020, global mobile payments reached a value of $1.43 billion, according to a report conducted by the IMARC Group. By January 2021, there were 73.91 million internet users in the Philippines which stood around 67% internet penetration based on the country’s total population of 110.3 million. This shows an increase of 4.2 million (+6.1%) internet users between 2020 & 2021.

COVID-19 is one of the major factors in embracing this digital domain and this shows why more & more Filipinos are embracing the so-called QR or “quick reaction” codes when purchasing goods & transferring money to each other. It helps  employ the “no physical contact requirement” which helps reduce the chance of further spread of the virus.

The BSP said the adoption of the National QR Code Standard is a turning point in the country’s digital transformation journey.

In his speech at the recently inaugurated Unionbank Innovation Campus, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said that, “I am happy to report that the volume and value of QR PH person-to-person payments in February this year also increased by 22 percent and 26 percent respectively, compared to the figure posted a month earlier,”

“We have launched na [already] what is called QR PH. That will be the standard, and that will be on stream by the second half of the year,” Governor Diokno said in a CNN Interview.

Quick Response or QR codes is a matrix barcode invented in 1994 by a Japanese automotive company, Denso Wave. It contains data that locate or identify the points to a certain website or location & consumers will only need their phones instead of using their credit or debit cards.

7/11, a convenience store & GCash, a mobile wallet agreed for a partnership to allow GCash users pay with QR Codes & introduce a new digital payment option for physical purchases.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) envisions the Philippines as a ‘coinless’ society by 2025 thanks to the National ID System and initiatives on proliferating the user of quick-response (QR) codes. In a previous interview, Governor Diokno did say that a 100% cashless society might not happen within his lifetime. “But I can assure you a coinless society by 2025 because that will be replaced by the QR Code PH which we are pushing to get to our national ID,” he remarked.

Sources: CNN, Inquirer

This article is published on BitPinas: Why the BSP Is Pushing For National QR Standards

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