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Cash-lite, Not Cashless: PH Central Bank’s Goal by 2028

To promote digital payment methods, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas plans to wean the country off cash and coin dependence

By Pie Gonzaga January 17, 2025

Photo from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Faceboo

In efforts to go cash-lite and transition to more digital payments in the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is also looking to lessen coin dependence for payments.

BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, head of the Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS), told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the central bank aims to create a “cash-lite” society “where digital payments coexist harmoniously with cash, providing Filipinos with the freedom to choose how they transact.”

In order to transition to a cash-lite and coin-lite society, the BSP said it needs to review the impact of interventions on the currency demand of Filipinos, particularly of policies promoting cashless transactions.

The BSP has reportedly been encouraging banks to eliminate online transaction fees since 2023. “Between persons, between individuals, we’re thinking about making [transaction fees] zero,” said BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. in a Rotary Club meeting on January 9.

BSP Governor Remolona gives a speech at the Annual Bankers’ Reception, encouraging the banking community to continue working together with BSP on digitalization and financial inclusion, January 10, 2025. Photo from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Facebook

The bank also proposed that payment operators shift to a subscription business model to further reduce costs for person-to-person and buyer-to-small business electronic transfers. “This approach acknowledges that even as we encourage the broader adoption of digital payments, the Philippines must continue to meet the economy’s currency needs,” Tangonan said.

“Ultimately, it’s not about choosing one over the other but about providing options,” he added. “By ensuring that Filipinos have the freedom to pay with cash or embrace the convenience of digital payments, we promote financial inclusivity and resilience in our economy.”

Card payment organization Visa conducted a poll from October to November 2023 and found that cash use declined from 96 percent to 87 percent in the country. Country manager Jeff Navarro said that as more merchants accept cards, dip, contactless, and mobile wallet payments, more Filipinos grow comfortable with contactless payments.

The BSP also reported hitting its target of digitalizing 50 percent of retail transactions in the country in 2023. According to the bank, the share of digital payment transactions in retail payments increased from 42.1 percent in 2022 to 52.8 percent in 2023.

By 2028, the BSP aims to bring the portion of online payments up to 70 percent of the country’s total retail transactions.

Pie Gonzaga

Culture Writer

Pie Gonzaga is the Culture Writer of Rolling Stone Philippines, primarily covering film, TV, food, and internet culture.

Gonzaga has worked on a range of stories for print and digital formats, from an interview with Cardinal Ambo David to features on queer party organizers such as CHURCH and Club Euphoria. Her work as the magazine’s former State of Affairs Writer includes news updates on pressing issues like the flood control scandal and the missing sabungeros, and covering rallies. Under Culture, she’s written episode recaps for hit shows, film reviews, and features on restaurants and the people who run them.

Before working with Rolling Stone Philippines, she contributed lifestyle and entertainment stories for a digital news platform.

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