Digital payments hit 64.7% of retail transactions in 2025

Digital payments accounted for 64.7% of all retail transactions in the Philippines in 2025, up from 57.4% in 2024, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank. The figure, released Tuesday in the BSP's 2025 Report on E-Payments Measurement, puts the country within the 60% to 70% target range set under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the government's medium-term blueprint for economic growth and poverty reduction [1]. The report also showed a 69.4% increase in digital payment accounts and a 36.3% rise in businesses accepting digital payments [1]. For the first time, QR Ph transactions—payments made by scanning a standardized quick-response code—surpassed debit and credit card transactions, reaching 2.47 billion transactions worth ₱1.16 trillion [1]. Merchant payments, or person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, accounted for 74.31% of total digital retail payments, with volume jumping 33.22% to 2.93 billion in 2025 from 2.2 billion the previous year [2]. However, the value of these merchant payments plunged 54.24% year on year to $13.2 billion (₱815.4 billion) from $28.8 billion (₱1.8 trillion), a decline the BSP attributed to a shift toward smaller, more frequent everyday purchases [2]. The central bank's report drew coverage across online news outlets, including BusinessWorld Online and regional broadcaster Tuguegarao Bomboradyo, with the latter's item carrying an estimated advertising-equivalent value of ₱72,500—the notional cost of buying the same space as paid advertising [1][2]. The day's broader financial conversation also touched on inflation, remittances, and banking strategy, with the BSP's digital payments milestone standing as the clearest positive signal in an otherwise cautious economic outlook.

Key themes

1. Digital payments reach 64.7% of retail transactions, hitting national target — The BSP's 2025 report showed digital payments grew from 57.4% in 2024, meeting the 60-70% target under the Philippine Development Plan. Merchant payments drove the growth, with QR Ph transactions surpassing card volumes for the first time [1][2].
2. Inflation projected to stay above target through 2026 — The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), the research arm of the House of Representatives, projected inflation between 6.37% and 7.32% in the third quarter and 5.91% to 7.31% in the fourth quarter, well above the BSP's 2%-4% target. The CPBRD said it is "highly unlikely that inflation will fall below 6% in 2026" [3][4].
3. Cash remittances may post slowest growth since pandemic — Maybank Investment Bank cut its 2026 forecast for cash remittances to 2.2% growth, reaching $36.4 billion, citing geopolitical risks from the Middle East war. This would be the slowest growth since 2020, when remittances contracted by 0.8% [5][6].
4. BSP mulls tighter 'fit and proper' rules for bank executives — The central bank is considering amendments requiring at least an annual assessment of directors' and officers' integrity and competence, extending beyond initial appointment [7].
5. EastWest Bank targets high single-digit to low-teen loan growth — The bank's CEO said it is shifting capital toward secured businesses like mortgages and auto loans while expecting credit costs to stay elevated as its consumer loan book matures [8][9].
6. Banks push digital payment innovations for businesses — BPI waived PESONet transfer fees for business disbursements via its BizLink platform, while Visa and UMSI launched U Accept, a smartphone-based payment acceptance tool for micro, small, and medium enterprises [10][11].
7. SM Prime sees strong corporate demand for arena premium suites — The company reported strong demand for its Premier Suites following a July 9 trade launch, with suites offered exclusively to companies under minimum one-year leases [12][13].
8. Peso slides to three-week low as Middle East tensions rise — The currency closed at ₱61.785 per dollar, down 29 centavos, as oil prices rallied to around $91 a barrel on fading hopes of a US-Iran peace deal [14].

How the narratives stack

Dominant — The BSP's digital payments report dominated the day's financial coverage, with multiple outlets carrying the story. The 64.7% figure represents a concrete policy achievement—the country meeting its digital payments target ahead of the Philippine Development Plan's 2028 horizon. Within the captured set, this story drew the most sustained attention across online news sources, including BusinessWorld Online and regional outlets, reflecting its significance as a measurable milestone in the central bank's financial inclusion agenda [1][2].

Counter-narrative — The inflation and remittance stories formed a counterweight to the digital payments optimism. The CPBRD's projection that inflation will remain above 6% through 2026, combined with Maybank's forecast of slowest remittance growth since the pandemic, painted a picture of an economy facing persistent cost pressures and a slowdown in a key income source for millions of Filipino families [3][4][5][6]. These stories ran across BusinessWorld Online, Head Topics Online, and the Business Mirror, with the remittance coverage drawing particular attention for its implications for household consumption [5][6][15].

Emerging — The BSP's proposed amendments to "fit and proper" rules for bank executives signal a regulatory shift toward ongoing oversight of directors and officers, rather than one-time checks at appointment. This story, carried by BusinessWorld Online, suggests the central bank is tightening corporate governance standards as the financial sector expands [7].

Under-covered — The Visa and UMSI launch of U Accept, a smartphone-based payment acceptance tool for small businesses, received relatively limited coverage despite its potential to expand digital payments to the country's millions of micro, small, and medium enterprises. The story appeared on a blog (Your Own Property) rather than mainstream financial media, even though it directly supports the BSP's digital payments push [11].

Platform insights

• Facebook — The BSP's digital payments announcement generated discussion among business and finance groups, with users sharing the 64.7% figure and debating what it means for cashless adoption. The regional broadcaster Tuguegarao Bomboradyo's Filipino-language report on the BSP data drew engagement from users in provincial areas, reflecting interest beyond Metro Manila [1].
• X (formerly Twitter) — Financial analysts and economists used the platform to parse the BSP report, with particular attention to the QR Ph milestone surpassing card transactions. The inflation and remittance stories also trended among economic commentators, who noted the tension between digital payments growth and broader economic headwinds [3][5].
• YouTube — No significant YouTube activity was captured in the monitoring window for this topic. The day's financial stories were primarily text-based, with video coverage limited to broadcast news segments not captured in the social monitoring data.

Key voices and communities

• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) — The central bank is the primary source of the digital payments data and the proposed "fit and proper" rules. Its reports and circulars set the regulatory agenda for the financial sector, and its digital payments target is a key policy benchmark [1][2][7].
• BusinessWorld Online — The financial news outlet provided the most comprehensive coverage of the day's banking and economic stories, including the BSP report, inflation projections, remittance forecasts, and bank earnings calls. Its reporting was the primary source for several key themes [2][3][5][7][8][9][14].
• Maybank Investment Bank — The bank's economists, Suhaimi Ilias and Azril Rosli, provided the revised remittance forecast, citing geopolitical risks from the Middle East war. Their analysis was picked up by multiple outlets, including BusinessWorld Online and Head Topics Online [5][6].
• Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) — The House research arm's inflation projections provided a sobering counterpoint to the digital payments milestone, with its analysis cited across BusinessWorld Online and Head Topics Online [3][4].
• EastWest Bank leadership — CEO Jerry Ngo's comments at the Philippine Stock Exchange investor briefing on loan growth and credit costs offered insight into how banks are navigating the current economic environment, with coverage in both Manila Standard and BusinessWorld Online [8][9].

Narrative streams

Digital payments hit 64.7% of retail transactions, meeting national target

The BSP's 2025 Report on E-Payments Measurement, released Tuesday, showed that digital payments reached 64.7% of retail transactions, up from 57.4% in 2024 [1][2]. This puts the country within the 60% to 70% target range set under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the government's medium-term economic blueprint. The report also showed a 69.4% increase in digital payment accounts and a 36.3% rise in businesses accepting digital payments [1]. Merchant payments, or person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, drove the growth, accounting for 74.31% of total digital retail payments. P2M volume jumped 33.22% to 2.93 billion in 2025 from 2.2 billion the previous year, though the value of these transactions plunged 54.24% to $13.2 billion (₱815.4 billion) from $28.8 billion (₱1.8 trillion) [2]. The BSP attributed the value decline to a shift toward smaller, more frequent everyday purchases—a sign that digital payments are becoming embedded in daily life rather than reserved for large transactions. For the first time, QR Ph transactions—payments made by scanning a standardized quick-response code—surpassed debit and credit card transactions, reaching 2.47 billion transactions worth ₱1.16 trillion [1]. PESONet, the central bank's electronic fund transfer system, also surpassed check payments as a method of payment [1]. The read for the sector: digital payments have moved from an emerging trend to a mainstream reality, and the infrastructure built around QR Ph and PESONet is now the backbone of retail transactions. For banks and payment providers, this means the competition shifts from building acceptance to deepening usage and capturing the remaining 35.3% of transactions still conducted in cash.

Inflation projected to stay above target through 2026

The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), the research arm of the House of Representatives, projected that inflation will remain elevated through the rest of 2026, ranging from 6.37% to 7.32% in the third quarter and 5.91% to 7.31% in the fourth quarter [3][4]. These figures remain well above the BSP's 2%-4% target range. The CPBRD said it is "highly unlikely that inflation will fall below 6% in 2026," citing rising global commodity prices, supply disruptions linked to the Middle East war, weather-related risks, and domestic production constraints [3][4]. Inflation remained above the central bank's goal for the fifth consecutive month in July, though easing oil prices and better food supply conditions helped inflation ease to 6.2% during the month. The seven-month inflation average stood at 5% [3]. The CPBRD also noted that multilateral institutions' projected 2026 inflation rates for the Philippines are the highest among five ASEAN members [3][4]. The read for the sector: sustained inflation above target means the BSP is unlikely to cut interest rates soon, keeping borrowing costs elevated for consumers and businesses. For banks, this supports the case for cautious lending strategies, as EastWest Bank's CEO indicated when he said credit costs would stay elevated [8][9].

Cash remittances may post slowest growth since pandemic

Maybank Investment Bank cut its 2026 forecast for cash remittances to 2.2% growth, reaching $36.4 billion by end-2026, down from its earlier projection of 2.4% to $36.5 billion [5][6]. If realized, this would be the slowest remittance growth since 2020, when remittances contracted by 0.8% to $29.903 billion. The revised forecast is also weaker than the BSP's 2.7% growth projection for cash remittances this year [5][6]. Maybank Chief Economist Suhaimi Ilias and economist Azril Rosli said remittances may be losing momentum as global conditions become more uncertain with the Middle East war unresolved [5][6]. The Business Mirror's report added context, quoting Jeremaiah Opiniano of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues, who said that even though June-only cash remittances hit a record $3.04 billion, "cash transfers from overseas Filipinos are slowing down" [15]. The read for the sector: remittances are a critical pillar of the Philippine economy, supporting household consumption and bank deposits. Slower growth means less money flowing into the domestic economy, which could dampen consumer spending and put additional pressure on banks' deposit bases and lending growth.

BSP mulls tighter 'fit and proper' rules for bank executives

The BSP is considering amendments to corporate governance guidelines for its supervised financial institutions that would require at least an annual "fit and proper" assessment of directors and officers [7]. The draft circular aims to ensure that evaluations of executives' integrity and competence extend beyond their initial election or appointment, covering their entire tenure [7]. The BSP said the amendments "underscore the pivotal role of the board of directors in safeguarding the safety and soundness of the BSFI" and are meant to ascertain that executives "consistently possess the requisite integrity, competence, and diligence necessary to discharge their fiduciary duties" [7]. The read for the sector: banks and other financial institutions will need to institutionalize ongoing governance reviews, which could raise compliance costs but also strengthen public confidence in the sector. This is part of a broader regulatory trend toward continuous oversight rather than one-time checks.

EastWest Bank targets balanced growth amid elevated credit costs

EastWest Banking Corp. is targeting high single-digit to low-teen loan growth in 2026, taking a more measured approach to lending and shifting capital toward secured businesses [8][9]. CEO Jerry Ngo said the bank is moving toward expanding mortgage and auto loans while also growing its small and medium enterprise lending, complementing its higher-performing unsecured portfolio [8]. Ngo said the strategy aims to create "a balance as we go through the cycle" [8]. At the same time, Ngo expects credit costs to stay elevated for the rest of the year due to challenging economic conditions and the maturing of its consumer loan book [9]. "We're also going through a seasoning process, having grown our unsecured book over the last three to four years. And with that, we're also expecting credit costs to remain elevated as newer accounts season," Ngo said [9]. The read for the sector: banks are navigating a period of elevated credit risk by rebalancing portfolios toward secured lending, which carries lower default risk but also lower yields. This shift could slow overall credit growth in the consumer segment while strengthening balance sheets.

Banks push digital payment innovations for businesses

Two separate announcements highlighted the ongoing push to digitize business payments. BPI, one of the country's largest banks, said it is waiving PESONet transfer fees for businesses using the Pay Non-BPI disbursement feature of its BPI BizLink corporate banking platform, starting Aug. 1 [10]. The fee waiver covers existing and new BPI BizLink corporate clients, allowing them to send funds to accounts in other banks through PESONet without transfer charges [10]. Meanwhile, Visa and USSC Money Services, Inc. (UMSI) launched U Accept, a payment solution that transforms a smartphone into a digital payment acceptance tool for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) [11]. U Accept is powered by Visa Accept and integrated into UMSI's uGrow app, removing the need for traditional point-of-sale terminals [11]. The read for the sector: the competition for MSME payment acceptance is intensifying, with banks and payment networks offering incentives and new tools to capture the small-business segment. This directly supports the BSP's digital payments push by expanding the merchant base.

SM Prime sees strong corporate demand for arena premium suites

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. reported strong demand for its Premier Suites following a July 9 trade launch, building on the offering's presence at the SM Mall of Asia Arena and its expansion to the SM Seaside Cebu Arena [12][13]. The suites are offered exclusively to companies and brands under leases of at least one year. Each 40-square-meter unit can accommodate up to 30 people and includes lounge and theater-style seating, a private restroom, VIP access, high-speed Wi-Fi, and views of live events [12][13]. "Premium suites have become a popular feature at leading sports and entertainment venues worldwide because they elevate the live event experience," SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said. "They also give businesses a more engaging way to connect with clients, partners and employees" [12][13]. The read for the sector: corporate demand for premium hospitality and entertainment experiences remains strong, suggesting that businesses are investing in client and employee engagement despite broader economic headwinds.

Peso slides to three-week low as Middle East tensions rise

The peso slid to an over three-week low on Tuesday, closing at ₱61.785 per dollar, down 29 centavos from its Monday finish of ₱61.495 [14]. This was its lowest close since its record-low finish of ₱61.847 on July 24 [14]. The currency weakened amid a rally in oil prices to around $91 a barrel as prospects receded for a deal to end the Middle East war, with Iran saying it would adopt a more offensive stance and the US ruling out negotiations [14]. The read for the sector: a weaker peso raises the cost of imports, including oil and other commodities, which feeds directly into inflation. For businesses with dollar-denominated debt or import exposure, the currency movement adds pressure to already-elevated costs.

Conversation trajectory

• Digital payments adoption (observation window: next 6-12 months) — The BSP's report shows digital payments at 64.7% of retail transactions, within the 60-70% target. The next data point will be the 2026 report, but quarterly BSP updates on digital payment accounts and merchant adoption will indicate whether the momentum continues. The launch of U Accept and BPI's fee waivers suggest the infrastructure is expanding, but the value decline in merchant payments bears watching—if it reflects a permanent shift to smaller transactions, it could signal a ceiling on digital payment value growth [1][2][10][11].
• Inflation trajectory (observation window: next 3-6 months) — The CPBRD projects inflation will remain above 6% through 2026, with the fourth quarter range of 5.91% to 7.31% suggesting some easing but no return to the 2-4% target. The BSP's next policy meeting and its inflation forecasts will be key signals. If inflation stays above 6%, the central bank is unlikely to cut rates, keeping borrowing costs elevated [3][4].
• Remittance growth (observation window: next 6 months) — Maybank's revised forecast of 2.2% growth for 2026 will be tested against monthly BSP remittance data. The June record of $3.04 billion shows the base is strong, but the trend is slowing. The Middle East war is the key variable—if it escalates, remittance growth could slow further; if a peace deal emerges, the forecast could be revised upward [5][6][15].
• Bank lending strategies (observation window: next 2-4 quarters) — EastWest Bank's shift toward secured lending reflects a broader industry trend as credit costs rise. Banks' quarterly earnings reports will show whether this strategy is protecting margins. The BSP's proposed "fit and proper" rules, if finalized, will add a governance layer that could affect board compositions and executive tenures [7][8][9].
• Trigger events — The BSP's next policy meeting and inflation forecast; monthly remittance data releases; the finalization of the "fit and proper" circular; the next BSP e-payments measurement report; and any resolution or escalation of the Middle East war, which would directly affect oil prices, the peso, and inflation.

Response guidance

• Digital payments messaging — For banks and payment providers, the BSP's 64.7% figure is a strong proof point for digital adoption. Emphasize the shift toward everyday, smaller transactions as evidence that digital payments are becoming habitual, not just for large purchases. Highlight QR Ph's surpassing of card transactions as a milestone that positions the Philippines as a leader in QR-based payments.
• Inflation and cost pressures — For financial institutions communicating with customers, acknowledge the reality of elevated inflation and its impact on household budgets. Avoid overly optimistic framing; instead, focus on practical tools—budgeting features, savings products, and payment flexibility—that help customers manage costs. The CPBRD's projection of inflation above 6% through 2026 should be addressed head-on, not minimized.
• Remittance sensitivity — For banks and remittance providers, the slowdown in remittance growth is a sensitive topic. Frame communications around the resilience of OFWs and the continued flow of funds, while being honest about global uncertainties. Highlight digital channels that make sending money more efficient and cost-effective, which can be a differentiator as growth slows.
• Regulatory changes — The BSP's proposed "fit and proper" rules signal a tightening of governance standards. Financial institutions should proactively review their board and executive evaluation processes and communicate their commitment to strong governance. This is an opportunity to build trust, not a threat to be managed defensively.
• MSME support — The launch of U Accept and BPI's fee waivers are concrete examples of how the financial sector is supporting small businesses. Communicators should highlight these tools as part of a broader narrative of financial inclusion, connecting them to the BSP's digital payments milestone and the goal of bringing more businesses into the formal financial system.

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