About 90 percent of government billers that the central bank wants in EGov Pay for this year are already onboarded for a more convenient taxes, permits and fees transactions via electronic channels or e-payments.
“At end-May this year, 387 government entities are participating in the payment facility. This translates to 90 percent of total government billers scheduled to be onboarded for EGov Pay for 2021,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno announced Thursday. “Amid the sustained rise in billers, the BSP is not far from onboarding 100 percent of the target number of government entities this year.”
Transactions using EGov Pay which are not just taxes, permits and fees but also other government obligations, increased by over 5,000 percent year-on-year in volume and almost 2,000 percent in value in the first five months of 2021. The main drivers for its utilization are fees related to securing clearances and tax payments, said Diokno.
EGov Pay transactions have increased by an average of 98 percent in volume and 126 percent in value from the first quarter 2020 to the first quarter 2021.
Citing the BSP-commissioned Better Than Cash Alliance report on the Status of Digital Payments, Diokno said 63 percent of government payments were already in digital form as early as 2018. “This number has steadily grown to 82 percent by the first half of 2020,” he said. “Enhancements could be pursued to further improve the efficiency of government collections and disbursements.”
Diokno said EGov Pay benefits the government several ways including: better audit trail for both the collecting government agency and the payor; government institutions can more efficiently collect revenues which are crucial to the delivery of social services; it helps the government mininmize revenue leaks; and digitalization of collections enhances government transparency and accountability.
“Aside from curbing revenue leaks, fostering better audit trail and enhancing transparency, the wider usage of EGov Pay is seen to promote efficiency in the country’s revenue generation efforts under the New Economy,” he said.
Government clients use EGov Pay through the Land Bank of the Philippines’ Link.Biz portal which will direct them to the Philippine Clearing House Corporation’s PayGate platform. This platform allows payors to choose the payment service provider from which funds will be transferred to the government via the PESONet, said the BSP.