The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) hit its digital payments target last year, driven by the rapid adoption of automated clearing houses and quick response (QR) codes across the country.

Based on BSP data presented during the Development Budget Coordination Committee's briefing for the 2027 National Budget at the House of Representatives on Monday, digital payments accounted for 64.7% of the total volume of retail payments in the Philippines in 2025, up from 57.4% in 2024.

"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 a separate 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," he added.

The 2025 result marked the first year that the share settled within the central bank's target. In line with the Philippine Development Plan, the BSP wants digital payments to account for 60%-70% of the total volume of retail payments by 2028. Even so, 2025 was the second straight year in which the annual increase in the share of digital payments stayed at a single-digit level, underscoring that the shift is advancing steadily rather than through a single sudden jump.

The central bank said the headline growth was largely driven by a 69.4% jump in digital payments accounts and a 36.3% increase in merchant locations or business outlets accepting digital payments. That broader acceptance base matters because it expands where consumers can actually use digital channels, not just where they can open them.

"Our data shows increasing use of payments to InstaPay, PESONet, and person-to-merchant (P2M) QR Ph. This highlights the continued momentum on the adoption of electronic payments channels in our country," BSP Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja said during the briefing.

At end-2025, the total value of transactions made via the payment gateways InstaPay and PESONet surged by 42.02% to P24.745 trillion from P17.423 trillion at end-2024. The BSP also noted that PESONet transactions have surpassed check payments, reflecting the growing use of electronic fund transfers for business and personal transactions.

Meanwhile, BSP data showed QR Ph transactions stood at a combined value of P1.16 trillion, with 2.47 billion in total volume, as of end-2025. This meant payments made using QR Ph surpassed debit and credit card transactions for the first time in 2025, "reflecting a growing preference for interoperable, account-based payments."

The BSP has rebranded QR Ph, which now refers exclusively to P2M payments after previously covering both P2M and person-to-person transactions.

Last month, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan said he remains confident that the central bank could exceed its digital payments goal by 2028, after it unveiled a set of new services and amid financial institutions' move to slash or scrap retail fund transfer fees to comply with the regulator's directive to make these charges fair and market-based.

The recently unveiled digital services include the country's first interoperable direct debit facility, InstaPay for Business, InstaPay Cash-in, as well as the rebranded QR Ph and InstaPay QR. Mr. Tangonan said transactions logged from the pilot run of these services so far show that breaching the target may be easier than anticipated.

"Equally important, the growing adoption of digital payments also generates what are called network externalities," Mr. Abenoja said during the briefing. "This means that the value and convenience of our domestic electronic payment channels increase as more consumers, more merchants, and more financial institutions participate in this financial ecosystem," he added.

— Katherine K. Chan