About 58 million Filipinos used e-wallet apps for 4.4 million hours in 2022, according to research from the consumer credit platform Digido.
The research looked at 14 e-wallet applications accessible via the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. These e-wallets are from businesses with operator payment systems (OPS) and electronic money issuer (EMI) licenses in PH.
The two top companies in the sector are GCash and Maya, backed by established telcos Globe and Smart.
As of December 2022, the firms had 114.4 million unique downloads, an increase from pre-pandemic levels. The 58 million active users are up 466% from December 2018 but down 8% from December 2021.
According to estimates from the United Nations, this number is equivalent to 72% of the population who are 15 or older. E-wallet users would typically use at least one of the study’s mobile applications 16 times every month.
It linked the stronger e-wallet market to the Philippines’ expanding population, the country’s strong local economy, and the broader increase in e-money demand worldwide.
Based on data from Statista, the number of digital payments made globally and users are expected to increase by 42.6 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively.