Search interest in accepting digital payments has risen sharply outside Metro Manila, indicating that more provincial businesses may be adopting online and QR-based payment channels.
An analysis by payment platform PayMongo found that searches for payment-acceptance terms across Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and the Davao Region were 177% higher in the first half of 2026 than during the same period in 2022.
The search terms included “accept maya,” “accept gcash,” “accept qrph,” “accept online payment,” and “accept payment online.”
Growth accelerated in 2025, with search interest rising 238% year on year in Northern Mindanao, 192% in Western Visayas, and 130% in the Davao Region. This compared with growth of 43% in the National Capital Region.
However, PayMongo noted that provincial searches started from lower levels than those in Metro Manila, meaning part of the difference may be attributed to base effects associated with earlier-stage adoption.
Search interest in “gcash qr” reached a five-year peak in Western Visayas in May 2026, Northern Mindanao in October 2025, and the Davao Region in April 2025.
The findings were based on Google Trends data from July 2021 to June 2026 covering nine regions. Google Trends measures relative interest on a scale of zero to 100 rather than absolute search volumes.
PayMongo said the trend coincided with growth in its own operations. Completed transactions across its merchant network increased 89% in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, while its merchant base grew 93%.
The analysis also showed rising interest in alternatives to the country’s two dominant e-commerce platforms. Searches for Shopee and Lazada fell 37% between the first half of 2022 and the same period in 2026, while the share of searches for TikTok Shop, Temu, and Facebook Marketplace increased fivefold.
These challenger platforms accounted for about 8% to 13% of shopping-platform searches in 2026, compared with roughly 2% in 2022.
Their share was highest in Eastern Visayas at 13%, followed by Central Visayas and the Davao Region at 12% each. Metro Manila registered 10%.
PayMongo said the figures could indicate that more sellers are transacting through social media, independent online stores, and physical locations using QR payments, instead of relying entirely on large marketplaces.
Search interest in “maya qr,” which was minimal before 2024, has also increased in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Central Visayas. PayMongo said this suggests the emergence of a multi-provider QR payment market aligned with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ QR Ph interoperability program.
Meanwhile, searches for “online business ideas,” “how to sell online,” and related terms in Metro Manila grew 59% in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, pointing to continued interest in online entrepreneurship.
The analysis covered NCR, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, the Davao Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
