Country Diagnostic: Philippines
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Philippines BETTERTHANCASH COUNTRY DIAGNOSTIC ALLIANCE Empowering People Through Electronic Payments July 2015 Development Results Focused Research Program Country Diagnostic: Philippines by James Hokans, Bankable Frontier Associates Philippines BETTERTHANCASH COUNTRY DIAGNOSTIC ALLIANCE Empowering People Through Electronic Payments July 2015 Development Results Focused Research Program Country Diagnostic: Philippines by James Hokans, Bankable Frontier Associates BETTERTHANCASH ALLIANCE Empowering People Through Electronic Payments INTRODUCTION TO THE BETTER THAN CASH ALLIANCE The Better Than Cash Alliance (the Alliance) is a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to drive inclusive growth and reduce poverty. Shifting from cash to digital payments has the potential to improve the lives of low-income people, particularly women, while giving governments, companies and international organizations a more transparent, time- and cost-efficient, and often safer means of making and receiving payments. We partner with governments, companies, and international organizations that are the key drivers behind the transition to make digital payments widely available by: 1. Advocating for the transition from cash to digital payments in a way that advances financial inclusion and promotes responsible digital finance. 2. Conducting research and sharing the experience our members to inform strategies for making the transition 3. Catalyzing the development of digital payments ecosystems in member countries to reduce costs, increase transparency, advance financial inclusion-- particularly for women-- and drive inclusive growth. The Alliance’s Development Results Focused Research Programme (DRFRP) accelerates the generation and dissemination of knowledge and tools for stakeholders transitioning part of their payments from cash to electronic. The DRFRP has three components: 1) Readiness diagnostics, which compile existing data on the volumes, values, and payment means for each kind of payment made by governments, the private sector, and development community partners, and assess the country’s readiness to replace cash payments with electronic payments; 2) Case studies of on-going shifts; and 3) Toolkits to provide practical steps for Alliance stakeholders to plan, measure and implement shifts. The DRFRP is managed on behalf of the Alliance by a consortium led by BFA, a Boston-based consulting firm, with advice from experts from the World Bank Payments Group and the CGAP Technology Team, as well as local research staff. PHILIPPINES PROJECT TEAM The diagnostic process involves desk research and an in-country mission by a team of experts to gather data, assess the incentives of participants in the local payments context, and survey the insights of local Alliance champions and stakeholders. Each diagnostic country team includes local researchers with experience in the payments system and knowledge of relevant institutions and individuals. Content and data in this document are based on information gathered during the third quarter of 2013, and therefore represent data prior to this date. This report was authored by the Philippines country project team: •Country Director: James Hokans, BFA •Country Analyst: Leesa Shrader •Measurement Expert: Wajiha Ahmed, BFA •Payments Expert: With advice and input from World Bank •Country Support: Anatoly “Jing” Gusto ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The diagnostic country team would like to thank Better Than Cash Alliance co-champions at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for their determination and support. We appreciate the time, energy and creative thinking that it takes to assist us to gather payments data and then help us analyze it. We particularly want to thank: Richard E. Moya, Undersecretary and Chief Information Officer, Department of Budget and Management; Gabriel Baleos, Digitization Initiatives Consultant, Department of Budget and Management; Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., Deputy Governor, Supervision and Examination Sector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; and Pia Roman Tayag, Head, Inclusive Finance Advocacy Staff, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. All photos © USAID Digital Development Better Than Cash Alliance Vital Signs Total # of payments % payments electronic Data Quality Index per month (by volume; by value) (Scale of 5=highest; 1=lowest) 2.539 million 1.03% | 8% Quality: 2.75 | Availability: 2.5 Context indicators Population (World Bank, 2012) 105.7 million Visa GEAR ranking (0-100) 64.2 Corruption Perceptions Index World Bank income category Lower Mid Income Rank: 105/174 (Transparency International, 2012) % adults with formal account 2003: 27% 27% Mobile penetration - (ITU 2012) (Findex, 2011) 2012: 107% State of the Transition to Digital Payments Payments by payer per month By number By value 80.0 10 000 4 6 60.0 1 000 8 57 40.0 100 2 1908 595 20.0 30 10 9 3 8 0.0 1 3 # of payments per month (million) Government Business Person Government Business Person Value of payments per month USD billion Value Cash Electronic Cash Electronic The Philippines has yet to transition a majority of its government payments by number or by value: Many are still done in check and cash. The reliance on paper-based payments is even more entrenched for business and individuals. Trajectories of the shift to electronic payments The shift to a mainly electronic (‘cash-lite’) economy typically proceeds through Shift 3: Purchase & other three stages, which can happen concurrently but at different speeds. 0.3% 3.3 2372m In the Philippines, the first shift, of one-to-many (bulk) payments, has yet to progress significantly, due to the persistence of checks for salary payments Shift 2: Bill pay 5% 39m and all government payments. The second shift, many-to-one (remote bill) 3.2 payments, is progressing for high value pension and insurance contributions and Shift 1: Bulk loan repayments, but not yet for taxes or supplier payments. The third shift, 15% 121m 2.8 one-to-one, including purchases (P2B), has made little progress in either the formal or informal sector and momentum is limited. 2.5 Legend: is the trajectory score for the use case connected to each shift; where 1=full shift very likely; 3=slow upward progress; 5=shift unlikely. Note: 38% is % of total number of monthly payments in each shift (shown at end of bar) which are electronic as in 2012. TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1 The Better Than Cash Alliance diagnostic approach .................................................................................................................................................................1 Key findings: Philippines ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Outline of this report .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................5 II COUNTRY CONTEXT �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 High digital and mobile penetration ........................................................................................................................................................................ ........................7 Low levels of financial inclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................................................7 Persistent corruption ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........................8 III EVOLUTION OF POLICY TOWARD ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Building the technical and legal infrastructure .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Wholesale payments: PhilPaSS from 2002 ........................................................................................................................................................... ...................... 12 Policy towards financial inclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Government policy targeting tax payments and government payments to suppliers .............................................................................................. 14 Ambitious initiatives are underway in P2G and G2G .............................................................................................................................................................. 15 Payment system milestones ............................................................................................................................................................................................................