Wena Cos, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Dec 23 2021 06:55 PM
MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ push for financial inclusion made big gains during the pandemic as the number of banked Filipinos hit 53 percent this year from just 29 percent in 2019.
“As of the first quarter of 2021, the proportion of banked Filipino adults has reached 53 percent, nearing the target of 70 percent," said BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno during a virtual forum.
In contrast, in 2017 only 22.6 percent of Filipino adults had a formal financial account--meaning accounts in either banks, e-wallets, microfinance institutions, cooperatives, non-stock savings and loan associations. The BSP is looking to raise this to 70 percent by 2023.
According to Aries Baloran, financial adviser from multinational financial literacy advocacy group Empower and Transform, the pandemic as well as the rise of digital banking led to the growth in the number of Filipinos getting bank accounts.
Baloran also said the adoption of e-wallets as well as the growth in online shopping led to financial inclusion.
"We have GCash, Paymaya, pumasok pa si Alibaba and si Shopee and Lazada, where all transactions are done digitally. So wala nang way para makapag-transact kung hindi ka mago-open ng bank [account] (There is now way you can transact without opening a bank account)," he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
People also realized the value of having a bank account and savings during the pandemic, Baloran said.
"Na-realize nila the importance of [having an] emergency fund na may huhugutin pag nagkaroon ng problem just like this. Yung mag dating walang bank account napilitan na mag-open.,” he said.
The BSP aims to transform the country from a 'cash-heavy economy', or one that uses cash for transactions, into a 'cash-light economy', or one that relies more on digital transactions.
This includes converting half of the total volume of retail payments in to digital form by offering faster, more affordable, and convenient payment options.
Despite recent concerns regarding online banking security, Baloran said account-holders should look at it as a learning opportunity for banks.
"That is a blessing in disguise na lumabas na yun as early as now para ang mga bangko ay mag-upgrade ng kanilang systems. We are prone to hacking and phishing, ang daming pwedeng i-link pag digital ka, problems will arise but it will give chance to improve the security aspects of banks," he said.
(This is a blessing in disguise that this issue came up as early as now so banks can upgrade their systems. This is an opportunity to improve the security aspects of banks.)
GCash says registered users reach 51 million as of October
Mobile wallet GCash said Tuesday it now has 51 million registered users as of the end of October.
For the year, GCash said it has breached its target of P3 trillion in gross transaction value or 3 times higher compared to last year.
Active users are also on the app more than 2.5 times a day while daily logins "peaked" at 23 million this year, the e-wallet said.
“We continue to embed GCash in the everyday lives of our users, which has in turn cemented our status as the undisputed market leader,” said Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO.
“We are proud to report that we have recorded four straight months of profitability, making GCash one of the few fintechs around the world that has proven that it can make money while providing accessible financial services to the public,” she added.
GCash said it also now has 3.9 million digital touch points and over 250 merchant partners across various categories.
The e-wallet also offers other financial services such as savings, loans and investments, among others.
Its operator Mynt recently announced it has reached a valuation of $2 billion or a "double unicorn" status following a $300 million funding.
PayMaya says users doubled to 38 million in 1.5 years
PayMaya doubled its users in the past 18 months to 38 million as it continues to expand its partnership with various government agencies and businesses, the company said on Tuesday.
PayMaya has recently launched its partnership with the local government of Antipolo City to allow the use of digital payments at its various offices as well as in public transport vehicles and public markets.
The company said that as of June, it's already partnered with over 70 agencies from both the national and local government levels.
Raymund Villanueva, director and head of enterprise growth at PayMaya, said they want to expand further in more towns and cities especially as they see 25 percent of their total transactions already happening outside Metro Manila.
"To be honest, the dream scenario for PayMaya and other e-wallets really is to digitize a whole ecosystem, a whole LGU from the very start whether its for payment acceptance or disbursement," said.
Aside from PayMaya, other fintech companies like GCash have also been aggressively expanding their reach, as the demand for digital services surges due to mobility restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These are all seen helping the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reach its target of having 70 percent of the Filipino adult population own a financial account by 2023.