More and more Filipinos have migrated from cash transactions when making purchases and embraced the electronic payments system such as those represented by debit cards in recent years, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said on Wednesday.
That migration has been substantial enough to encourage local lenders to project increased used of BPI-issued debit cards this year averaging 10 percent at the very least.
BPI Assistant Vice President for Debit and Prepaid Business Ranj Basi said the lender has issued some 7 million automated teller machine (ATM) cards that double as debit cards, as well.
“About four out of 10 account holders use debit cards. Our target is to grow by 10 percent this year,” the executive said at the sidelines of BPI’s Skip campaign on Tuesday.
She said some still go to their ATM machines when making financial transactions when, in fact, account holders can simply use their BPI debit cards to pay merchants, for instance, and they get a 3-percent rebate.
Basi said customers may simply swipe their debit cards at points-of-sale (POS) terminals instead where it is faster and more convenient.
“As the economy grows, we see the growing middle class with more disposable income. This will drive the use of debit cards. This increases the sophistication in terms of paying for goods and services. They can be used in supermarkets, department stores, drugstores, fashion outlets and other retail units,” she told the BusinessMirror.
BPI debit cards are accepted in over 45,000 merchants nationwide and can be transacted through any BancNet-accepting POS terminal.
She added that bills payment may also be done through BPI Express Online.
She recalled that seven years ago, there were only few debit-card users because of fewer stores accepting debit payment and the lack of awareness of the product itself.
But she said the younger generation has adopted debit cards more easily and, through word of mouth, debit-card usage has steadily grown through the years.
She said the debit-card usage grew 15 percent the past many years.
“Customer education is key to increasing debit-card usage. People don’t know that it can be used directly in stores. As people get aware of it, they will keep on using it because of the convenience they represent,” Basi said.
Image credits: Alysa Salen