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Banking

Daily intelligence on the Banking beat

Sunday, November 8, 2026

Issue #134

Digital payments grow 198% as cash-on-delivery holds a quarter

QR Ph and InstaPay transactions rose 198 percent between January 2025 and April 2026, while cash-on-delivery still accounted for nearly a quarter of Philippine e-commerce payment value. A separate survey found Mindanao consumers the most open to borrowing, and a P555.75-million fine against Move It PH put enforcement of transport caps in the spotlight.

By the MMI Banking Desk

Digital payments grow 198% as cash-on-delivery holds a quarter

Digital payment transactions on QR Ph and InstaPay grew 198 percent between January 2025 and April 2026, but cash-on-delivery still accounted for nearly a quarter of Philippine e-commerce payment value, according to the Ecommerce Payments Momentum Report 2026 from payments platform Xendit and e-commerce data firm Cube. The report, which surveyed 6,000 online shoppers across six Southeast Asian markets including 1,000 from the Philippines, also drew on 25 business-leader interviews and platform transaction data. The same day's coverage included a TransUnion survey showing 54 percent of Mindanao respondents intend to use credit in the coming months, against a 43 percent national average, and a Philippine Star column on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's P555.75-million fine against ride-hailing app Move It PH for carrying more riders than its government allocation. A first-person account from TV Patrol anchor Alvin Elchico described a failed ₱20,000 InstaPay transfer between his BPI account and GCash that was later resolved. The day's items also included the Philippine National Police reporting eight cybercrime convictions and 144 referred cases in October, and the Philippine Statistics Authority revising second-quarter GDP growth upward to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent.

Dominant. The Xendit-Cube report on QR Ph and InstaPay growth is the most consequential item in this set. It carries the largest advertising-equivalent value of any business item captured here, at an estimated ₱736,980 in ad space for the Manila Times version alone, and it was picked up by at least two outlets. The 198 percent growth figure is striking, but the report is careful to say its transaction figures reflect activity on Xendit's platform and should not be read as total market volumes. The cash-on-delivery share of nearly a quarter is the counterweight: it shows that a large share of online shoppers still pay when the package arrives, which means merchants carry the risk of failed deliveries and returns, and payment providers have a large remaining pool to convert.

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