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In what appears to be a rare ray of light, the global pandemic has pushed more Filipinos to open bank accounts and make their transactions online, the governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a recent speech.
Central Bank Director Benjamin Diokno said his goal of increasing local financial inclusion by 2023 may have accelerated as more and more people open accounts at their local banks due to the pandemic.
“Our goal is for at least 70 percent of Filipino adults to have a bank account by 2023. But with the pandemic, we are optimistic that we will be able to reach this goal in December 2022,” he said.
This is a big leap from three years ago, where according to the BSP’s 2017 Financial Inclusion Survey, 52.8 million or 77.4 percent of the total population remain without banking services.
Diokno said that the BSP is also experiencing an exponential increase in the use of the electronic payment platforms Instapay and PesoNet.
“My personal goal is for half of financial transactions in the country to be digital by 2023, the end of my term. But with the enabling regulations and the pandemic, this could be achieved sooner, perhaps by the end of 2022, ”Diokno said.
Banks have echoed this trend, saying they are seeing double-digit growth in online transactions. UCPB, for example, told BusinessMirror that the pandemic appeared to have “forced people to bank online.”
“[We] saw an increase in enrollment and use of online banking specifically from our mobile app. Active users of the UCPB app increased 67 percent compared to the beginning of the year and 96 percent compared to the same period last year. The volume of transactions has also increased, largely driven by the use of InstaPay, ”said UCPB.
‘Inflection point’
For the local economy, meanwhile, Diokno reiterated that “the worst is over” despite the increase in Covid-19 cases.
“While we are not out of the woods yet, there has been progress as the economy gradually opens up from strict shutdown in March to June to less stringent quarantine measures. We are learning to live with the virus. Now we are at a turning point, ”he said.
Diokno said banks entered the crisis with “sufficient reserves” and are likely to withstand the negative economic effects of the pandemic.
He also said that the BSP stress tests point to a favorable outlook for the banking system amid risks.
“The results show that nonperforming loans will remain manageable, capital adequacy ratios will remain above the 10 percent requirement, liquidity will be sufficient and profitability will remain intact,” Diokno said.
