ECQ boosts e-payment transactions up by 260% in April -BSP

E-payment transactions grew by over 250% in terms of transactions in April, the first full-month the government implemented the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Thursday.

Data released by the central bank showed that the combined volume of InstaPay and PESONet transactions posted a 260% growth in April versus the same month last year.

The same data showed that the combined volume of transactions for both e-payment services also grew by 18% or 2.13 million transactions under the first 45 days of the ECQ from the 45-day period prior to the lockdown.

This is equivalent to an increase of P64.62 billion or 25% in terms of transaction value during the same comparable periods.

Metro Manila, along with several "high-risk areas," has been on lockdown since March 17, with the ECQ already having been extended twice to last until May 15.

"We see the use of digital payments gaining momentum in the post-coronavirus environment as more financial institutions embrace digital transformation to provide more efficient and safer services, while consumers and institutions, including the government, continue enhancing access to digital payment facilities," BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a virtual briefing.

Launched in April 2018, InstaPay is an electronic fund transfer (EFT) payment system which enables individuals to wire funds across banks in real-time.

Since its launch, InstaPay transaction volume has grown by 509,151% to 8.86 million in April this year from 1,740 the same month in 2018.

Meanwhile, PESONet was launched in 2017, enabling the government, businesses, and individuals to initiate electronic fund transfers and recurring payments in financial institutions supervised by the central bank within the same banking day.

PESONet transactions have since grown by 228% to 1.08 million transactions in April from 330,000 transactions in November 2017.

"The digital life is upon us.  We can harness this to ensure that technology does not only lead to better social connections and convenient business transactions, but also and more importantly, for all Filipinos to have access to welfare-enhancing financial services," said Diokno.—AOL, GMA News