ELECTRONIC payment (e-payment) method is viewed as a low-risk solution for sustaining commercial transactions during the ongoing enhanced community quarantine in most parts of the country.
The Oxford Business Group (OBG) in a report said as customers become more familiar with e-payment services, the prospect of their continuing use in a post-corona virus diseases 2019 pandemic setting is strong — particularly with ongoing improvements in the accessibility, affordability and quality of internet services, as well as measures to enhance consumer protection, data privacy and security under the National Cybersecurity Plan 2022.
OBG said for now, obstacles to internet take-up remain: affordability, availability and speed of internet services whether broadband or mobile data. The result is some 29 million Filipinos are not yet connected to the internet.
OBG cited Akamai Technologies’ 2017 “State of the Internet/Connectivity” report which said the Philippines ranked last out of 15 countries surveyed in the region and 100th out of 149 nations globally for average connection speed, at 5.5 megabits per second (Mbps) compared to 7.2 Mbps internationally.
“Mobile internet is an important route to get users online, but growth in this area is constrained somewhat by the cost and complexity of deploying supporting infrastructure across a vast archipelago like the Philippines,” OBG said.
It added the entry of a third telecommunications operator to enhance competition could potentially boost infrastructure development and mobile penetration.
OBG also welcomed the importance given by the government in advancing the digital economy. Improving connectivity is one of eight priority areas under the country’s long-term development plan.
Restrictions on the movement of people and business operations in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 and adherence to social-distancing measures has led to the increased demand for e-payment) for services such as food delivery and utilities.
