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Governor Benjamin Diokno of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is hopeful that a payment system based on the rapid response (QR) code would help the central bank’s efforts to expand electronic payment transactions in the nation despite the country’s poor internet connection.

Diokno said that the QR PH for person-to-merchant (P2M) utilizes QR codes for financial transactions at the virtual debut of the QR PH P2M program on October 12, 2021.

“To accept payments, businesses just need to print QR codes that their individual payment service provider will create for them, display those codes, and get payments by simply requesting their consumers to scan the code without requiring connecting to the internet.” “Both businesses and consumers may get confirmation of successful payments transactions,” he added during the briefing, which was broadcast live on the central bank’s Facebook page.

Electronic payments, which have grown in popularity since the government enforced mobility restrictions at the onset of the epidemic, are likely to grow much more with the introduction of QR codes for payments.

Diokno said that they are optimistic about the future growth of digital financial transactions since more individuals now own smartphones and have access to the internet.

According to statistics from market research company Statista, about two-thirds of the population, or 73.9 million Filipinos, have access to the internet through mobile devices.

“This indicates that, in general, more Filipino customers and merchants now have the ability to make and receive payments, including those made via QR-enabled devices,” he added.

The QR PH program was initially introduced in November 2019 for the QR PH P2P (person-to-person) payment, which catered to remittances and payments in the information industry.

It began with six pilot participants and has now grown to include 23.

The QR PH P2M trial program began in April 2021.

According to Diokno, QR PH transactions have increased more than 45 times since the second quarter of 2020, resulting in an average quarterly growth rate of 110 percent for volume and 229 percent for value.

So far, nine financial institutions and electronic wallet (e-wallet) service providers have joined forces with the BSP to launch the QR PH P2P initiative.

AllBank, Asian United Bank (AUB), Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank, China Banking Corporation (Chinabank), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), StarPay, Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank), and USSC Money Services Inc. are among these financial institutions.

Account-holders of these institutions can now make QR payments to merchants who have accounts with AllBank, AUB, BDO Unibank Inc., Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), PayMaya, RCBC, StarPay, Unionbank, and USSC Money Services Inc. using their bank’s mobile app.

QR PH P2M conducts its transactions via InstaPay, one of the two electronic payment facilities provided by the central bank’s National Retail Payment System (NRPS).

Diokno anticipates a rise in the number of QR PH P2M participants in the coming days, noting that utilizing a QR code is less expensive than using a point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

“Through the interoperability feature of QR Ph payments, QR Ph empowers consumers by allowing them the choice to select their digital payment provider, and this is consistent with the United Nations’ principles on the responsible use of the digital payment,” he said.

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