Digital lending platform Digido estimated that roughly one-fifth of Filipinos would still not utilize financial technology (fintech) by the end of this year.

In a statement, Digido said that the adoption rate of financial technology through mobile apps in the country is projected to hit 79.5 percent this year, leaving only 20.5 percent of Filipinos aged 15 and older still unserved.

The projected adoption rate, equivalent to 66.4 million unique users, would increase from the record 76.2 percent at end-June this year.

Growth of the adoption rate is expected to primarily come from the digital commerce segment, forecasted to contribute 34 percent, followed by digital wallets at 27.2 percent and digital banking at 8.6 percent.

As of June, the cumulative downloads of fintech mobile applications in the country had reached 617 million, Digido said.

Of all the sectors, digital commerce had the highest number of downloads at 31.4 percent, with digital wallets following at 21.7 percent and digital lending at 20.3 percent. 

The remaining downloads were made up of digital payments and transfers (11.6 percent), digital personal finance apps (eight percent), and digital banking (seven percent).

As of June 2024, the digital lending sector recorded the highest increase in downloads, reaching 25.4 million. This was followed by digital commerce at 13.5 million and digital wallets at 12.2 million.

The digital payments and transfers sector received 7.8 million downloads, while digital banking and digital personal finance applications garnered 6.2 million and four million, respectively.

On average, Digido reported that the number of downloads was consistently increasing at a rate of about 10.26 percent every six months. 

In the first six months of 2024 alone, the digital banking industry posted the highest increase in downloads at 22.34 percent, followed by digital payments and transfers at 17.72 percent, and digital lending at 16.81 percent.

Rose Arreco, Digido business development manager, said the expansion seen in digital lending, digital wallets, and digital commerce is due to the increasing trust in these sectors and their inherent connections with each other.

“As strong demand for fintech in the Philippines continues, so too Filipinos’ expectations on convenience, interoperability and improved user experience across these applications,” Arreco said.

“We believe that the Philippines remains on course towards widespread digitalization, with its ‘fintech-ization’ far from weakening. Collaboration within and outside of the industry remains paramount for this growth to be realized at a faster rate,” she added.