Filipinos are becoming less reliant on cash amid the growth of cashless payments in the country, latest Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study in the Philippines indicated.
In a media briefing, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Jeffrey Navarro said 50 percent of consumers carried less cash in 2022 as more of them use cashless payments such as cards, mobile wallets and quick response (QR) payment.
According to the Visa study, 6.4 out of 10 purchases were made through cash payment last year, which was lower than the 7.8 out of 10 purchases in 2021.
“Those carrying less cash said it’s because of the availability of cashless payments in the market. They’ve already embraced it. The second point is in the area of safety and security so they cannot be robbed. They feel safer that they are not using actual cash, but in digital form,” Navarro said.
He said 82 percent of Filipino consumers attempted to go cashless in 2022.
About 22 percent of the respondents succeeded to go cashless for a day in 2022, while 40 percent went cashless for a few days. These numbers were higher compared to 2021, he said.
“The preference and usage of cash is still very strong, but what we are seeing over the years, cashless-behavior payment is really on the rise and it’s gaining momentum,” he added.
However, other Southeast Asian countries have embraced cashless payments faster than the Philippines.
In terms of QR usage, Cambodia is leading the region, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Singapore is leading in cardless payment, followed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The Philippines is one of the leading countries in the region in terms of mobile wallet usage, only behind Indonesia.
Meanwhile, among the challenges of Filipinos on going cashless include internet connectivity, acceptance of cashless payments in the point of sales and fraud.PNA
