Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province has joined the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program that enables public markets, transport terminals, and business establishments to accept digital payments for faster and easier transactions.
Lapu-Lapu is the fifth city in the Philippines to launch the Paleng-QR Ph Plus program following the cities of Baguio, Davao, Tagbilaran, and Naga.
Mayor Junard Chan said Lapu-Lapu was the first city in the country to issue an ordinance, which was approved in October 2022, supporting the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028.
He also stressed that innovations in financial transactions led the city to immediately act on the call of the BSP and the national government toward the adoption of digital payments to foster financial inclusion.
BSP deputy-governor Romulo-Puyat expressed her appreciation for the efforts of Lapu-Lapu City in passing the ordinance and mobilizing resources to ensure the widespread promotion and adoption of digital payments in the city.
She said the program helps market vendors and transport drivers open transaction accounts, making payment transactions more convenient and cost-effective through the use of QR PH codes.
“Truly, the benefits of Paleng-QR Ph Plus create ripples of progress for the region and the entire economy.”
One of the consumers who opened a digital wallet at the launch was Maria Alma Ibañez who said that “magagamit ko rin… para hindi na ako magbarya-barya, direct na ako magbayad ng [kung] magkano ang total amount, yun lang ang aking ibabayad.”
The Lapu-Lapu City government and the BSP, together with the FSPs, agreed to hold financial literacy sessions and onboarding activities starting March until December 2023 as part of post-launch activities.
This is to ensure that by the end of this year, the LGU will be able to onboard at least 80 percent of the 700 vendors or 560 market stall owners and at least 50 percent or 3,241 out of 6,481 transport group members in the city.
Aside from market vendors and public utility vehicle drivers, Paleng-QR PH Plus now covers other business establishments, merchants, business owners, and other transport providers.
The program encourages the use of QR technology as a convenient, safe, and efficient payment solution. It is part of the central bank’s broader efforts to transform half of the volume of payments in the country into digital form and to onboard 70 percent of Filipino adults to the formal financial system by this year under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023.
