BSP and payment industry hold pilot launch of QR PH P2M

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the payment services industry led by the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI) held a pilot launch of the QR Ph Person-to-Merchant (P2M) digital payment stream on 30 April 2021.

“This event marks another milestone achieving a cash-lite economy. It is expected to bring broad and wide-ranging benefits to both consumers and businesses by providing Filipinos with a convenient and safe alternative to the traditional payment methods that use cash and coins,” said BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.

The National QR Code Standard, dubbed “QR Ph,” provides a convenient and cost-efficient means of paying small ticket, high volume retail transactions.

Individuals with accounts in the following InstaPay pilot participants may begin using QR Ph to pay for goods purchased from participating merchants: AllBank (A Thrift Bank) Inc., Asia United Bank, China Banking Corporation, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Robinsons Bank, and UnionBank.

Meanwhile, QR Ph can be used to pay select merchants with accounts with the following InstaPay pilot participants:  AllBank (A Thrift Bank) Inc., Asia United Bank, PayMaya, Robinsons Bank, and UnionBank. The full implementation of QR Ph P2M will be launched in Q3 2021.

With QR Ph P2M, consumers need not memorize details of their bank accounts as these relevant information will be securely stored in the QR code. Consumers only need their mobile phones and do not have to worry about carrying cash or debit/credit cards.

The ease of carrying out retail transactions through digital payments is further increased by the interoperability feature of QR Ph. Under the QR Ph, customers would not have to maintain separate accounts with the payment service providers who are enrolled in it. Merchants enrolled in QR Ph would also not need to display numerous QR codes in their establishments.

“The safety, ease and affordability of using of QR Ph P2M will make digital payments more accessible to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines. Given that the sector comprises around 99 percent of the total number of businesses in the country, the adoption of QR Ph P2M by MSMEs will allow more Filipinos to reap the benefits of digital payments,” explained the Governor.

“With these expected gains to the economy, the QR Ph P2M is bound to significantly contribute to the BSP’s efforts dedicated towards the development of a more vibrant and inclusive digital payments ecosystem,” the Governor added.