HSBC Philippines recorded an exponential increase in digital payment transactions over the past year via PESONet, an electronic fund transfer service in the country.
From 120K payments during the first quarter of 2020, PESONet transactions increased to 900K payments by the end of the first quarterthis year, posting a volume growth of 650 percent.
“Since the implementation of the National Retail Payments System (NRPS) in 2017, HSBC has worked closely with the industry and our customers to drive the adoption of digital payments. The exponential growth in our PESONet volume shows how our corporate customers have adapted to the current challenges brought about by COVID-19, and how they are preparing for the future,” said Mimi Concha, Head of Wholesale Banking, HSBC Philippines.
“However, by March 2021, we observed that cheque volume was gradually picking up, despite the high-cost and the risk of face-to-face transactions. We knew then that we had act to provide our customers with better alternatives and encourage them to utilize more convenient and safer digital payment options.” Concha added.
Companies in The Philippines still heavily rely on cheques for payments to suppliers and the government. In 2021, 130 million cheques are cleared in the country, compared to 60 million and 75 million for Asean neighbors, Vietnam and Thailand, respectively.
Recently, HSBC Philippines organized a virtual summit during its Digital Payments Week, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in moving away from cheques. Over 200 participants attended the event, including regulators, government agencies, industry experts and leading companies, to provide updates, share insights and best practices, on how we business can adopt digital payments, and work together to meet the objectives set forth in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’(BSP) Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap(DPTR).
