Visa published its annual Digital Remittances Adoption Report, which shows that 75% of the remittances to and from the Philippines were done through digital platforms. It’s further proof that the adoption of e-transactions in the Philippines is improving.
As per Visa Country Manager Jeff Navarro, the remittance industry in the Philippines is a USD264 billion market, with 43% or USD113 billion being inbound amounts while 57% or USD151 billion is outbound.
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The said inbound flow accounts for 60% of the whole inbound remittance in Asia Pacific, mainly consisting of regular remittances and for special occasions and holidays.
Meanwhile, USD146 billion of the outbound flow is business-related transactions like payments to suppliers, digital goods, and travel and entertainment. The remaining USD5 billion is money sent to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for emergencies and as support to Filipinos studying abroad.
“Our country may still be transitioning from cash economy to digital adoption, but 75% of all remittances were sent and received using digital solutions,” said Navarro.
The majority of people surveyed (62%) favor digital transfers because they feel it’s more secure compared to the 15% of responders who still go the traditional way.
With that, Visa has launched its Visa Direct platform which has 8.5 billion endpoints in 190 countries and 160 currencies. This lets users send money to Visa cards, e-wallets, and bank accounts.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also reported that e-payments now account for 52.8 percent of retail transactions in the country, another sign that the adaption of digital transactions are improving in the country.