PMore traders in Cotabato City are starting to offer digital payment options after the launching of the Palengke-QR Ph Plus in the city.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Mindanao Regional Office said that 82 percent of business owners in the Cotabato public market are using the digital-based QR payment system. Cotabato City is the first local government in the Bangsamoro region and the third in Mindanao to adopt the digital payment program.
Zarinah Aligsao, head of the Regional Economic Affairs Staff of the BSP, said that electronic wallet (e-wallet) service providers like GCash have reported a continued increase in the number of businesses offering digital payment using a QR code.
“With the scan to pay using their respective e-wallets, errors can be avoided,” she said partly in Filipino.
Palengke-QR Ph Plus aims to strengthen the financial resilience of Filipinos and help them maximize economic opportunities through inclusion in the formal financial system.
Now expanded into Paleng-QR Ph Plus to include more participants, the BSP expects the program to boost digital payments in the country with the help of local government units and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Aligsao further said that businesses offering QR code-based payment systems are registered with their choice of financial service provider, and have their QR codes displayed on their stores.
BSP Mindanao Regional Director Judith Dolot also said that BSP has recorded a total of 479 unbanked cities nationwide. Of these, 217 cities are from Mindanao and 110 municipalities from the Bangsamoro region.
Dolot said that the Bangsamoro region remains to have the lowest financial inclusion rate in the country.
“So, it is really nice if we can promote PalengQR Ph Plus here in Cotabato City since it can help areas with no banking facilities still get access to their financial services through their partners,” she pointed out in Filipino.
Nelsie Pendatun, a vendor from Cotabato City public market, said that the program can make everyday transactions more convenient, secure, and efficient for both merchants and consumers.
“It is a very good payment modality for everyone to use, especially those who don't usually bring any cash with them. All they have to do is use these different payment schemes, such as GCash, Land Bank, Maya, and others,” Pendatun said in Filipino.
Prior to the launch of Paleng-QR Ph Plus, the city government and its partners trained public market vendors in the city in a series of financial literacy sessions to help them understand how to use digital payments in businesses.
Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad “Bruce” Matabalao described the program as having great timing because the city government of Cotabato is eyeing its full digitalization of its operations.
