Quezon City has just joined the growing list of cities, municipalities, and provinces now supporting the Philippine government’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap and its ultimate goal of promoting digitalization and financial inclusion in the country.
Late last month, Mayor Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Felicito A. Valmocina, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Acting Director Mynard Bryan R. Mojica led ceremonies to formally launch the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program in the city.
Photo shows members of the Pederasyon QC Palengke during the launch of Paleng QR PH Plus in Q.C. (Inset: Quezon City Mayor Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte while delivering her speech at the event).
Held at the Project 4 Public Market in Quezon City, the launch had a sizable crowd composed of market vendors from the Pederasyon QC Palengke, as well as tricycle drivers and PUV operators as attendees.
According to Mayor Belmonte, “Dati pa, pangunahing layunin na ng Lungsod Quezon ang digitalization. Naniniwala tayo (sa) pagpapadali ng proseso ng pag-transact sa Lungsod Quezon.”
DILG Undersecretary Valmocino, for his part, said, “Napatunayan na po natin na ang digital payment ay epektibo sa pagpapadali ng mga transaksyon. Ito ay makatutulong sa serbisyong publiko sa mga lokal na pamahalaan.”
Meanwhile, BSP Acting Director Mojica highlighted the aspiration of the program. “Umaasa po tayo na sa pamamagitan ng Paleng-QR Ph Plus program, mas marami pang Pilipino ang magkakaroon ng account at gagamit ng digital payments,” he said.
Encouraging the use of digital payments in daily transactions
The launch of the Paleng-QR Ph Plus in the city is in line with the QC ordinance approved in September 2023 that aims to enjoin public market vendors, tricycle drivers and operators as well as local business establishments to use digital payments in daily transactions.
The Paleng-QR Ph Plus program was jointly developed by the BSP and the DILG with the hope of building a digital payments ecosystem in the country through the promotion of cashless payments in both public markets and local transportation.
It capitalizes on the QR Ph initiative — a program that enjoins local government units (LGUs) to seek policy championship (of) and to push for the acceptance of digital payments among market vendors, community shopkeepers, and tricycle operators and drivers associations in key cities and municipalities throughout the country.
The program also highlights the significance of market purchases and local transportation fares as basic components of an average Filipino’s typical payment pattern.
It believes that until a market vendor or a tricycle driver can accept digital payments, then transitioning to cashless transactions would be difficult for the average Filipino consumer.
The BSP, for its part, is pursuing the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program as one of its priority activities to actively support the government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028 and its thrust of promoting digitalization and financial inclusion in the country.