The pandemic has forced more Filipinos to use digital commerce platforms and cashless payments, a survey conducted by Visa showed.
“Based on the latest highlights from our annual Consumer Payment Attitudes study, we see adoption of new consumer behaviors including more Filipinos using digital commerce platforms and helping to accelerate the usage of digital payments in the country,” Dan Wolbert, country manager for the Philippines and Guam at Visa, said.
He said Filipino consumers are carrying less cash as only five out of 10 payments are now made using cash, down from the pre-pandemic levels of 7 out of 10 payments.
The survey showed that 73 percent of the respondents use more contactless payments including mobile wallets, and that 54 percent of the respondents perceive cash as unsafe because of the potential spread of COVID-19.
Surveyed Filipinos see bill payments, grocery shopping and overseas travel as the top categories where they would likely go completely cashless in the future.
Although the shift is becoming apparent, more than half of Filipinos still prefer using cash as a preferred payment. This is still high compared to cash usage in Indonesia at 28 percent, Malaysia at 23 percent and Singapore at 15 percent.
As COVID-19 has forced Filipinos to adopt to digital commerce and cashless payments at a faster rate, we must be prepared to adapt so we can maximize the benefits and minimize risks. We do it now because of the fear of infection from handling cash but when this pandemic is hopefully over someday, the way we do business and commerce will have been changed. If we start out with the right habits, the change can be for good.*
