Digital payments came just over five percentage points (ppts) short of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 70-percent target for 2028, already accounting for nearly two-thirds of the country’s total retail transactions in 2025.

BSP Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja reported during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing on Monday, Aug. 17, that digital payments accounted for 64.7 percent of total payments by volume in 2025, growing from 57.4 percent in 2024.

According to Abenoja, this level has already exceeded the BSP’s initial target of up to 54 percent for retail transactions. This ratio is moving closer to the 70-percent target outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

Driving this unprecedented momentum is robust consumer usage of InstaPay, PESONet, and person-to-merchant QR Ph.

QR Ph transactions exceeded debit and credit card transactions for the first time in 2025, the BSP reported in an Aug. 17 statement. A total of 2.47 billion QR Ph transactions worth ₱1.16 trillion were processed during the year.

“This highlights the continued momentum in the adoption of electronic payment channels in the country,” Abenoja said.

“A lot of the growth is due to our insistence on interoperability, ensuring that a growing number of businesses and service providers are on one system,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said in the statement.

“That brings in more users, which makes the network more valuable for everyone in it, including consumers, businesses, banks, e-wallets, and other platforms,” Remolona added.

BSP data showed that digital payments surged past the ₱16-trillion mark as of midyear, driven by the dramatic spike in transaction volumes as domestic banks and e-wallet providers aggressively slashed transfer fees.

Total transactions processed through the BSP’s clearing houses, PESONet and InstaPay, climbed by 44.6 percent to ₱16.09 trillion during the first half from ₱11.13 trillion in the same period of 2025.

“PESONet transactions have surpassed check payments, reflecting the growing use of electronic fund transfers for business and personal transactions,” the BSP also said.

Accompanying this surge in value was a steep increase in combined volume, skyrocketing by nearly 170 percent to 4.2 billion during the six-month period from 1.6 billion a year ago.

Digital payments’ growth, the BSP said, was supported by a 69.4-percent increase in digital payment accounts and a 36.3-percent rise in merchant locations or business outlets that accept digital payments.

Further propelling this shift to a cash-lite society was the recent wave of interbank fee waivers, in which banking heavyweights have already taken part.

“This deduction or waiver of interbank digital transaction fees makes it more affordable and accessible for Filipino households and small businesses to access the convenience of electronic fund transfers,” Abenoja said.

Remolona said that efforts to “work closely with industry and government partners to expand digital payments to benefit more Filipinos and the economy as a whole” continue.

Looking ahead, the BSP expects the momentum to continue, supported by policies governing e-payments. For one, the BSP is pushing for fair transfer fees, requiring interbank fees to be equal to intrabank transaction fees.