QR payments double in H1as Chinese boost usage rate

MANILA, Philippines — Cashless transactions through the use of QR or quick response code is gaining popularity among Filipino consumers and Chinese tourists with deals hitting P3.27 billion in the first half of the year.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the amount of QR code transactions already exceeded the P1.86 billion recorded in 2018 by P1.41 billion.

Melchor Plabasan, officer-in-charge of the Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Department at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), told The STAR the rise could be attributed to the increasing trend for both local QR and locally-acquired Chinese QR customers’ transactions.

“Filipinos are gradually getting more acquainted to QR payments which is an indication that the aggressive marketing efforts of the electronic-money issuer pioneers and incumbent banking institutions alike are starting to bear fruit,” he said.

Plabasan said e-money issuers have consistently offered transaction-based incentives for routinary purchases to lure customers into trying out QR payments.

In the first semester alone, local QR transactions reached 5.07 million worth P2.08 billion, while locally-acquired Chinese QR transactions through Alipay and WeChat reached 510,795 worth P1.2 billion.

In 2018, 4.26 million local QR transactions worth P1.46 billion and 139,022 Chinese transactions worth P397.84 million were processed.

He said the 300 percent increase in locally-acquired Chinese QR transactions could be attributed to the influx of Chinese tourists in the country.

“Given the ubiquity of QR payments in their home country, Chinese tourists are more than willing to pay for their purchases via QR,” Plabasan said.

According to Plabasan, Chinese consumers are willing to pay for transactions in malls, supermarkets and restaurants with value ranging from P2,300 to P2800.

On the other hand, he said the average transactions of Filipino consumers only ranged from P340 to P400.

“Filipinos on the other hand, are testing the waters so to speak, which is why their average transaction value is within the range of P340 to P400,” he added.

QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that is readable by smartphones and allows merchants or retailers to charge consumers via online bank apps or reloadable e-wallets.

To pay their purchases, all consumers need to do is scan the QR Code using their smartphones.

The QR code payment method is relatively cheaper and easier to deploy as merchants can do away with a traditional point-of-sale system.