Market vendors, PUV drivers next targets for e-payments

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partnered with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to promote the acceptance of digital payments in the country’s public markets and tricycle hubs through the Paleng-QR Ph program.

Outgoing BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno and outgoing DILG chief Eduardo Año recently signed a joint memorandum circular to institutionalize and promote the implementation of the Paleng-QR Ph program by local government units (LGUs) nationwide.

“The Paleng-QR Ph program underscores our firm belief that financial inclusion is a whole-of-nation undertaking and highlights the particularly crucial role of the local government units,” Diokno said.

Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the BSP aims to convert 50 percent of total retail transactions to electronic channels and increase the number of Filipino adults with bank accounts to 70 percent by 2023.

“By promoting QR Ph digital payments in all public markets and local transportation hubs across the country, the program aims to bring the welfare-enhancing benefits of digital finance innovations to our micro- and small entrepreneurs, as well as the communities they serve,” Diokno said.

For his part, Año urged LGUs to take advantage of the Paleng-QR Ph program to further augment their economic resurgence through safe and effective financial transactions.

“This ceremonial launching signals the start of our duty to disseminate this transformative initiative to our kababayans at the grassroots level as well as the private sector who will directly benefit from these guidelines,” Año said.

The program aims to build the digital payments ecosystem in the country to promote cashless payments in public markets and local transportation by identifying the respective responsibilities of the BSP, the DILG, LGUs, and financial service providers.

In doing so, the program could further demonstrate the practical utility of owning a transaction account for the average Filipino consumer.

Under the program, LGUs are expected to assist the onboarding of target users to a transaction account, such as by organizing an “account opening day” in coordination with financial service providers with QR Ph capabilities.

QR Ph is the national QR code standard that allows transfers between participating banks and e-wallets in the Philippines.

Participating financial service providers are expected to provide customer assistance booths, including QR code printouts, during the conduct of the “account opening day” by the LGUs.

The DILG and BSP jointly developed the Paleng-QR Ph program, inspired by student policy competition finalists from the University of the Philippines – Los Baños in last year’s BSP Youth Summit.