Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Migz Villafuerte says the impressive rise in the volume of electronic fund transfers (EFTs) in the country ought to convince Congress to pass a law mandating the use of online payments in most official dealings. 

Villafuerte said in a statement Sunday, Jan. 11 that such law can further boost the growth momentum of Philippine e-commerce.

“The sustained dramatic growth in both volume and value of EFTs cleared through Instapay and PESONet underline the deepening public trust and confidence in digital platforms,” said the Bicolano.

“And the government can persuade more Filipinos to embrace fintech (financial technology) via the mandatory payment online of most official transactions such as the collection of taxes, payment of fees and disbursements of public funds,” he reckoned.

Villafuerte noted that as early as 2023, Google projected in its e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report that the country’s e-commerce could reach $35 billion by 2025, and race to upwards of $60 billion by 2030.

For digital payments, the projected growth was $126 billion in 2025 and a whopping $220 billion in 2030.

The former Camarines Sur governor said that accelerating the momentum of the government’s digital transformation will help the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) hit its target of making online transactions account for 60 percent to 70 percent of all retail payments by 2028.

Villafuerte had earlier introduced in the 20th Congress the proposed "Promotion of Digital Payments Act". It espouses the mandatory use of digital payment platforms for collecting taxes, fees, tolls, imposts, other revenues, purchases, and public disbursements, as well as account-based disbursements that credit government payments directly to recipients’ accounts.

Embodied in House Bill (HB) No. 3646, the measure seeks to help the government and BSP overcome challenges to an even speedier digital transformation, such as the inadequate access to reliable digital infrastructure, slow internet connectivity especially in remote areas, costly digital payment fees and limited acceptance of digital payments.

Villafuerte said that to accelerate the adoption of digital payments, HB No.3646 requires local government units (LGUs) to “issue their respective ordinances requiring merchants within their localities to establish or outsource arrangements or mechanisms that would enable them to receive payments from clients and make payments to creditors and suppliers in digital form as a prerequisite for the approval or renewal of their business permits".

“No new or renewal of business permit shall be approved unless the merchant concerned shows to the satisfaction of the LGU that a functional digital payment system accessible by mobile phone or other access devices is installed or provided by a duly registered PSP in the merchant partner’s place of business,” the bill states.

It directs LGUs to “ensure that merchants in their jurisdictions have access to appropriate digital payment solutions and have the capacity to effectively use the same, with due consideration to small and micro-merchants, including market vendors, tricycle operators and food stalls".

The LGU shall, under the bill, extend assistance to small and micro-merchants to facilitate their adoption of digital transaction capability; while the BSP and Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall similarly facilitate measures to provide capacity building for the NGAs, LGUs and Government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Also, LGUs may impose reduced fees or grant other incentives for merchants providing efficient digital payment systems.