Payments/PH
Philippines
ISO PH · 3 schemes
Summary
- QR Ph is the national unified QR standard
- InstaPay powers real-time P2P transfers (PHP 10.2T in Jan-Nov 2025)
- PESONet handles batch/high-value transfers (PHP 11.8T)
- 57.4% digital payments in retail volume (2024)
- 4.065 billion transactions via InstaPay/PESONet (Jan-Nov 2025)
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
- Website: https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
- Role: Monetary policy, payment systems oversight
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BDO Unibank | Private | BDO Digital Banking |
| 2 | BPI | Private | BPI Online/Mobile |
| 3 | Metrobank | Private | Metrobank Mobile |
| 4 | Landbank | State-owned | iAccess |
| 5 | UnionBank | Private | UnionBank Online |
Market Structure
- Universal banks: BDO, BPI, Metrobank lead
- State bank: Landbank (government)
- Digital pioneer: UnionBank
- E-wallets: GCash, Maya dominant
2024 Performance
- 52.8% digital retail payments (2023)
- 57.4% achieved by 2024
- Targeting 60-70% by 2028
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| InstaPay | PPMI/BSP | Real-time retail | Active |
| PESONet | PPMI/BSP | Batch clearing | Active |
| QR Ph | BSP | Unified QR | Active |
| PhilPaSS | BSP | RTGS | Active |
Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI)
- Operates InstaPay and PESONet
- Industry-led, BSP-supervised
- Interoperability mandate
2025 Statistics (Jan-Nov)
| System | Value | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| InstaPay | PHP 10.209T | +56.18% YoY |
| PESONet | PHP 11.845T | +27.66% YoY |
| Combined | PHP 22.054T | +41.15% YoY |
| Volume | 4.065B | +203.6% YoY |
QR code standards
QR Ph
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Operator | BSP |
| Foundation | InstaPay rails |
| Interoperability | All banks + e-wallets |
| Logo | Red-blue-yellow |
QR Ph Features
- Single QR for all participating institutions
- Merchant payments (P2M)
- Person-to-person (P2P)
- UnionBank, BPI, GCash, Maya compatible
InstaPay QR vs QR Ph
- InstaPay QR: P2P transfers (InstaPay logo)
- QR Ph: Merchant payments (red-blue-yellow logo)
- Both interoperable across institutions
Transaction Limits
| System | Limit |
|---|---|
| InstaPay | PHP 50,000/transaction |
| PESONet | PHP 250,000+ (bank-dependent) |
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | QR Ph | InstaPay |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCash | Globe | Yes | Yes |
| Maya | Voyager | Yes | Yes |
| BDO Pay | BDO | Yes | Yes |
| BPI Mobile | BPI | Yes | Yes |
| UnionBank | UnionBank | Yes | Yes |
E-wallet Dominance
- GCash: Largest e-wallet (60M+ users)
- Maya: Second largest (formerly PayMaya)
- Both integrated with QR Ph
Bank Mobile Apps
- BDO Digital Banking
- BPI Online/Mobile
- Metrobank Mobile
- UnionBank Online
- Landbank iAccess
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QR Ph | Unified QR | EMVCo | Universal | qr-ph |
| InstaPay QR | Payment QR | PPMI | Widespread | instapay-qr |
| PESONet | Batch transfer | PPMI | Active | — |
Sources
- BSP - Payments Bulletin
- PPMI About Us
- Transfi - Philippines Payment Rails
- BusinessWorld - InstaPay PESONet P22T
- CoinGeek - Philippines Digital Payments 2024
- FintechNews PH - Q1 2024
- FintechNews PH - Real-Time Payments
- Ian Macalinao - InstaPay Barriers
- HitPay - QR Ph 2025
- Wise - Payment Gateway Philippines