Digital payment firm Visa has released its annual digital remittances adoption report, which revealed that the bulk of remittances to the Philippines was sent and received through digital platforms.
The study was conducted from February to March 2024, across 20 countries around the world, and with nearly 45,000 remittance senders and receivers. It looked into remittance patterns, digital app adoption, and barriers for frictionless remittance payments.
The study showed that by March 2024, around $887 billion of total amount was moved through remittances around the world.
On the receiving side, it was found that three out of five receiving countries came from Asia Pacific — India, China, and the Philippines.
For India, received remittance mostly went to economic support and humanitarian needs (52%), while in China, the majority of remittances went into business supports and investments (41%).
As for the mode of remittance, digital solutions reigned supreme. Singapore led with 90% of the respondents preferring digital transfers through e-wallets, citing speed, less fees, and security.
China, Singapore, and Australia are already digitized, and poised for future adoptions, while India and Philippines are just shifting from cash economy to digital adoption though at a progressive rate, the report said.
Jeff Navarro, country manager for the Philippines, said the money movement in the Philippines is a $264-billion market, with $113 billion (43%) comprising the inbound amount and $151 billion (57%) going out.
The inbound figure accounts for 60% of the total inbound remittance in the Asia Pacific and is comprised mostly of regular remittances and money for special occasions and holidays.
As for the outbound flow, $146 billion of it are business-related transactions like supplier payments, travel and entertainment, and digital goods.
The remaining $5 billion are comprised of money sent to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) for emergency cases and educational support for Filipino students abroad.
“Our country may still be transitioning from cash economy to digital adoption, but 75% of all remittances were sent and received using digital solutions,” Navarro said.
Among the surveyed Filipino population, 62% felt more secure with digital transfers compared to 15% who prefers the traditional way of receiving through a person or through mail.
Navarro stated this is a market opportunity to improve their services in handling the large amount of money movement in the country.
Visa has launched its “Visa Direct”, an online platform that has 8.5 billion endpoints, stretched across 190 countries, and covers 160 currencies.
The endpoints include Visa cards, bank accounts, and e-wallets to cover almost every available digital platform.
