Re: Panahon Na Nga Ba Maging "Cashless Society" ang Pilipinas?
⭐ Merited by cabalism13 (1)
There's no denying na naging mabagal talaga ang adoption ng digital payments dito sa bansa. Isipin mon 2001 pa pala unang na-introduce ang mobile payment pero parang recently lang tayo aware ang karamihan sa ganito. Halos dalawang dekada na 
Huwag na natin laruin yung blame game bakit mabagal at mag-focus na lang sa mga improvements. Noong 2015, naglabas ang BSP ng mga programa to improve the digital payment infrastructure and encourage the citizens to go cashless. Isa na dyan yung National Retail Payment System (NRPS) which gave way to PESONet (launched Nov. 2017) at Instapay (launched April 2018) - take not of the launch dates at yung covergae ng 2017 BSP survey. These two made moving funds faster, cheaper, and more convenient which then led to wider acceptance of digital transactions by the public and even the business sector (including the SMEs). Halimbawa na lang sa coinsph, siguro naman napansin nating mga users yung epekto lalo na sa cashout fees simula nung implement nila yung Instapay at PESONet.
So handa na ba ang Pinas for a cashless society? Not yet but we are getting there faster than before given the improvements I stated above (just think of how many more gcash/paymaya/coinsph can add to their system). The Government has also been leading the way dahil dumami na din ang agencies na tumatanggap ng digital payments but for further growth, kailangan pa talaga ng mas maraming cooperation ng Government at private sectors. DOLE, for example, has been pushing for the e-payment of wages. Kung sakaling ma-implement, napakalaking boost nyan for adoption dahil ilang daang milyong empleyado sa ang ang ma-expose dito.
For the latest assessment about the state of digital payments in the Philippines, read the 2019 report (short version / full version) by Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA). Binabasa din yan ng BSP.
I'm just to highlight some parts of the report:
Huwag na natin laruin yung blame game bakit mabagal at mag-focus na lang sa mga improvements. Noong 2015, naglabas ang BSP ng mga programa to improve the digital payment infrastructure and encourage the citizens to go cashless. Isa na dyan yung National Retail Payment System (NRPS) which gave way to PESONet (launched Nov. 2017) at Instapay (launched April 2018) - take not of the launch dates at yung covergae ng 2017 BSP survey. These two made moving funds faster, cheaper, and more convenient which then led to wider acceptance of digital transactions by the public and even the business sector (including the SMEs). Halimbawa na lang sa coinsph, siguro naman napansin nating mga users yung epekto lalo na sa cashout fees simula nung implement nila yung Instapay at PESONet.
So handa na ba ang Pinas for a cashless society? Not yet but we are getting there faster than before given the improvements I stated above (just think of how many more gcash/paymaya/coinsph can add to their system). The Government has also been leading the way dahil dumami na din ang agencies na tumatanggap ng digital payments but for further growth, kailangan pa talaga ng mas maraming cooperation ng Government at private sectors. DOLE, for example, has been pushing for the e-payment of wages. Kung sakaling ma-implement, napakalaking boost nyan for adoption dahil ilang daang milyong empleyado sa ang ang ma-expose dito.
For the latest assessment about the state of digital payments in the Philippines, read the 2019 report (short version / full version) by Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA). Binabasa din yan ng BSP.
I'm just to highlight some parts of the report:
Quote
Increased adoption of payment cards and mobile money by consumers.
Investments by banks and other payment service providers have resulted in 21 million Filipinos owning prepaid and debit cards, up from 12.7 million in 2013. Similarly, mobile money was barely on the horizon in 2013. By 2018, active mobile money accounts had jumped to 5 million, driven by fintech companies and low-cost, QR code enabled payments.Recent investments by fintech players in customer acquisition have yielded these gains: building awareness, offering incentives and subsidized fees. Purchasing airtime is a popular use of mobile money accounts, as seen in other geographies. Prepaid and debit cards are increasingly used for making payments to merchants.
Increase in acceptance of digital payments by merchants.
Incumbent banks and fintechs alike are driving acquisition through partnerships with large retailers and chains. Further, acquirers are subsidizing initial setup costs, such as the cost of the point-of-sale (PoS) terminals. This has led to a year-on-year improvement of 19% in merchant acceptance.
Investments by banks and other payment service providers have resulted in 21 million Filipinos owning prepaid and debit cards, up from 12.7 million in 2013. Similarly, mobile money was barely on the horizon in 2013. By 2018, active mobile money accounts had jumped to 5 million, driven by fintech companies and low-cost, QR code enabled payments.Recent investments by fintech players in customer acquisition have yielded these gains: building awareness, offering incentives and subsidized fees. Purchasing airtime is a popular use of mobile money accounts, as seen in other geographies. Prepaid and debit cards are increasingly used for making payments to merchants.
Increase in acceptance of digital payments by merchants.
Incumbent banks and fintechs alike are driving acquisition through partnerships with large retailers and chains. Further, acquirers are subsidizing initial setup costs, such as the cost of the point-of-sale (PoS) terminals. This has led to a year-on-year improvement of 19% in merchant acceptance.
~ As of the latest Financial Inclusion Survey na ginawang ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas nuong 2017, 77% o 52.8 million na Filipino adults ay wala pa ding bank accounts. How can we be a cashless society if karamihan pa sa populasyon natin ay walang formal bank account? The success of being a cashless society ay talagang naka-depende ba talaga kung handa na ang sarili nating populasyon na maging digital yung mga payments natin, kung karamihan pa sa populasyon natin ang unbanked o yung mga taong wala man lang bank account will you say we are ready for a cashless system?
Isang dahilan kaya maraming unbanked sa atin ay dahil marami ang ayaw dumaan sa proseso ng pag-create ng account sa kung anumang dahilan. Financial services like Gcash and Coinsph gained massive popularity dahil na-capture nila yung mga taong yun (no need for a bank account to top up). Mas convenient naman talaga isang download lng ng app then register kumpara sa pagpunta sa bangko at pagpila. The point is, bank accounts are not necessary to move for a cashless society kung may financial services naman allowing the unbanked to make digital payments (coinsph even have their own ad like "I am my own bank" or something like that).