The financial world could have fallen into total chaos had there been no online payment platform during the pandemic, according to a top executive of local operator Globe Telecom.
“The adoption grew during the pandemic because majority of the people can’t move freely,” said Yolly Crisanto, Globe senior vice president for corporate communications. “Because people can’t go out, they used online payments to buy [what they need]. ”
Crisanto said online payments increased exponentially during the pandemic because the technology is not only simple but very convenient to use. “It’s so easy to use,” she said.
According to Globe Telecom, users of its online platform GCash have increased by an estimated 400 percent since the pandemic began in March 2000.
Crisanto said the users of GCash have expanded tremendously due to the lockdowns and curfews imposed. The pandemic also helped them bring the technology closer and more adoptive to the system.
At present, there are now around 46 million users of the online payment platform. “It’s been existing for about 10 years but mass adoption only happened recently,” she added.
Adoption of online payments is prevalent globally not just in the Philippines, according to a New York-based consulting firm Technology Executive Council.
Tap-to-pay and online payment schemes are the most prevalent mode of payment nowadays, TEC said. The consulting firm said tap-to-pay transactions increased by more than 30 percent globally over the past year, thanks to the pandemic that limited public movement.
“Nearly 50 percent of consumers say they will not shop at a store that doesn’t offer a contact-less way to pay,” the consulting firm added.
PayPal, the world’s biggest online payment platform in terms of users, now have active 325 million users that pay online no less than thrice a day.
TEC said other platforms are expected to rake in profits in the coming years as the pandemic led majority of the world’s 7 billion people to rely on such technology to pay anything sold at groceries, malls, restaurants, and supermarkets.
