More Filipinos going cashless, says Visa

MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos are going cashless due to convenience and safety, boosting the push of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for a cash-lite economy, according to the Consumer Payments Attitudes Study conducted by Visa.

Stuart Tomlinson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam, said Filipinos are increasingly going cashless as the survey showed 70 percent of respondents have gone cashless for at least a few days.

Around 58 percent of the respondents cited convenience, while 47 percent cited safety as the main reason for the digital behavior.

Furthermore 69 percent of the respondents expressed confidence to go cashless for a day and 52 percent think they could use only electronic payments for up to three days.

“Technology has transformed the way consumers shop and pay for their purchases. Clearly, Filipinos are seeing the benefits of electronic payments in their lives, and this leads to a change in behavior, where they become confident in leading a digital lifestyle,” Tomlinson said.

He said more Filipinos are using digital payments and are spending about 15 percent more on their cards compared to a year ago.

Filipinos who shop online have increased to 92 percent last year from 71 percent in 2016.

In fact, 66 percent of them shop online at least once a month. Consumers cite utility bills or fines (59 percent) as one of the top categories paid online, followed by fashion (43 percent), travel (40 percent), and beauty products (36 percent).

“Online shopping is clearly a popular pastime for Filipinos. Besides spending more time shopping online, they are also buying more. In fact, based on our data, they are spending almost 30 percent more on online purchases as compared to a year ago. Currently, online shopping contributes about one-fifth of total spend on Visa cards in the Philippines,” he said.

The study suggests that more respondents use digital platforms to book a ride (55 percent), order food (56 percent), and stream content (42 percent) citing convenience, comfort, and wider options to choose from as top reasons why they use on demand services.