BSP: Shift to coinless society likely by 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the country to shift to a “coinless” society by 2025, made possible by the rollout of the national ID system that is enabled by quick-response (QR) codes.

In an online interview with BusinessWorld, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the implementation of the Philippine ID system (PhilSys) would support the government’s push for digital payment solutions.

“Talking of cashless society may be not within my 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,” Diokno said.

“As you know the central bank is responsible for printing the national ID, which will have a QR code at the back and maybe, for small transactions you can use that,” he added.

The BSP’s goal is for the Philippines to shift from a cash-heavy society to a cash-lite one by the end of Diokno’s term in 2023.

“Part of that vision is that 50 percent of all transactions by the end of my term should be in digital form, and 70 percent of all Filipino adults should have a bank account,” he said.

As more Filipinos adopt digital payments due to the coronavirus pandemic, Diokno said these targets may be met “sooner rather than later.”

Diokno said he envisioned a post-pandemic situation that is highly digitalized and contactless. He urged Filipinos to prepare for this new normal, rather than anticipating a return to the old normal.

“So we will have an economy that is highly digitalized, a more contactless economy. The way we shop, the way we live will be different from the old normal. So the sooner we adjust to the new normal, I think it’s better for the economy,” he said.