The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has urged market vendors and tricycle drivers in Ilocos Norte to start adopting cashless transactions and embrace the “Paleng-QR” program, a digital payments initiative developed jointly by BSP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
In its media advisory, the BSP stated that the ultimate goal of the “Paleng-QR” program is to build the country’s digital payments ecosystem by promoting cashless payments (like using QR codes) in public markets and local transportation, particularly tricycles.
“Paleng-QR” is a play on the words “palengke” (market) and “quick response” (QR) code.
In the same breadth, the BSP also sought the assistance of local government units (LGUs) in encouraging their constituents to start doing cashless transactions using QR codes. Specifically, the BSP has requested local chief executives and provincial lawmakers to push for the acceptance of the “Paleng QR” program and support the government’s sustainable agenda for digital payments adoption on a national scale.
According to the BSP, this particular program will optimize the benefits of e-commerce in the digital age.
Faster and more accessible digital payments
In a press release, Ms. Cristamarie Tabilas-Abiva, deputy director of the BSP Regional Operations Sub-sector in Batac, Ilocos Norte, said that helping the average Filipino adopt cashless transactions provide a lot of advantages, like faster and more accessible digital payments.
“We want everyone to have better access to financial services and to be part of the digital financial community,” Abiva said, even as she requested LGUs in the area to help gather market vendors and public transport associations for a public consultation to promote the use of digital payments, either through Globe Telecom’s GCash or Smart Communication’s Maya apps.
For his part, Laoag City Mayor Michael Keon pledged support to the program by convening the market vendors and stall holders at the Laoag City Public Market and Commercial Complex (LPMCC) and holding a consultative meeting with the different Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations (TODA) in the city.
“Through this program, our vendors and tricycle drivers could have their ‘e-wallets’ for the processing of digital payment transactions,” the mayor said, adding that LGUs in the city could also use it to distribute “ayuda” or financial aid to the public.
Paleng-QR Ph Plus is now also in Bacolod
In a related development, the BSP has also launched the “Paleng-QR Ph Plus” program in Bacolod City last Tuesday, March 14, at the Libertad Public Market, which drew the participation of over 1,800 market vendors and 1,100 public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers in the area.
The launch was led by BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo B. Benitez, City Councilor Celia Matea R. Flor, and various financial service providers who assisted program participants in opening transaction accounts and printing QR codes.
During the program launch, customers were made to pay for goods and services using their smartphones to scan merchants’ and PUV drivers’ QR codes.
Prior to the event, the BSP and the Bacolod City government also conducted financial literacy sessions on account onboarding and digital payments for market vendors and PUV drivers.
Bacolod is the third local government unit in the Visayas and the seventh in the Philippines to officially launch Paleng-QR Ph Plus, joining Baguio, Davao, Tagbilaran, Naga, Lapu-Lapu, and Pasig.
According to the Bacolod City government, 1,889 or 78 per cent of all registered market vendors and 1,158 or 59 per cent of transport drivers in the city have already been onboarded to the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program as of the end of February 2023.