BSP partners with SM to push digital payments

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partnered with SM Supermalls to push digital payments as part of initiatives to convert the Philippines to a cash-lite from a cash-heavy economy.

BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the partnership with SM for cashless malling reinforces the central bank’s vision of financial inclusion for broad-based growth and shared prosperity for all Filipinos

“By promoting cashless payments in SM Malls all over the country, this partnership will bring the welfare-enhancing benefits of digital finance innovations to its merchants and shoppers, as well as communities where SM malls are located, while we have 80 SM Malls all over the country and this will empower them as partners in sustainable local economic development,” she said.

As part of the development of an inclusive digital payment ecosystem, Puyat pointed out that the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) has encouraged partners outside the government to launch initiatives such as cashless malling at SM.

“This special collaboration also highlights our firm belief that financial inclusion is a whole-of-nation undertaking, with the private sector playing a very critical role,” Puyat said.

As cashless malling at SM is implemented and adopted, Puyat said partners of SM, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), would start accepting digital payments making it easier for Filipino consumers to transition to cashless transactions.

“And in digitalizing transactions – specifically in malls, which we know have become part of Filipino culture and which form part of many Filipinos’ regular payment pattern – account ownership will be made more compelling, the digital financial ecosystem will greatly expand, and the benefits of digital innovation will be brought to more Filipinos,” she said.

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

With the pandemic serving as catalyst, the share of digital payments to total retail transactions increased to 30.3 percent in 2021 from 20.1 percent in 2020, while the number of banked Filipino adults almost doubled to 56 percent in 2021 from 29 percent in 2019.