A recent study by digital payment operator Visa shows that 71% of Filipinos send their remittances using app-based solutions.
Remittances are one of the Philippine economy’s backbone contributing an estimated 9.3% of the market’s GDP in 2021 placing it among the top 5 countries for remittance inflows. On a global scale, the Visa report “Money Travels: 2023 Digital Remittances Adoption” found that 53% of respondents are turning to digital apps to send and receive funds,
“Fast, easy, and secure payments can make a profound difference to families, communities, and economies around the world,” T.R. Ramachandran, head of New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Visa, said in a statement. “This new research shows the incredible acceleration of digital payments and how consumer expectations of speed and ease of use are underpinned by the demand for better security.”
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In Asia Pacific (APAC), digital solutions also continue to be the preferred choice, with Filipino remittance receivers intending to use digital transfers (57%) and to receive money digitally (36%).
Security
This survey was conducted by Morning Consult on Dec. 14-28, 2022 among a sample of more than 14,000 remittance senders and receivers across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, France, Poland, Philippines, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The report also found that residents surveyed in the Philippines primarily receive remittances from other countries (70%) rather than sending (17%), driven by the estimated 1.83 million Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs) working outside the country.
According to the Visa report, non-adopters of app-based solutions in the Philippines are “generally open to using these methods” citing security as a key benefit of digital remittances. Visa said companies that offer these solutions can further strengthen their security strategies and use them as key messaging for potential clients.
“Remittance habits are also changing with ease of use and better technology – we are seeing remittances being sent and received in less than a day in Asia Pacific, spurring increased frequencies,” said Ramachandran. Beyond livelihoods, we are also seeing more remittances made in support of key life milestones, such as funding college education, making investments for the long term or saving for an overseas property purchase.”
Visa works in collaboration with global remitters such as Maya Philippines, Brightwell, Paysend, Western Union and Xoom to help enable efficient money movement through digitized remittances.