MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr supports the use of Paleng-QR Ph Plus in transactions and urges government agencies to educate the public about financial literacy, Malacañang said on Friday.

The Paleng-QR Ph Plus is a program created by the interior department and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to boost the use of digital payments. This was launched last year in different localities.

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The program aims to make QR code payments available in wet markets and public transport systems.

Marcos made the statement during his meeting with the digital infrastructure cluster of his Private Sector Advisory Council in the Palace this Thursday.

PSAC members noted why QR codes must be adopted, as this would make "savings and loan applications in banks a lot easier for the public, especially the farmers, fisherfolks and small businesses," the Presidential Communications Office said in a release.

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Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla said adopting the QR codes and digital payment applications will have a big impact on financial inclusion.

"The problem is there’s no way for banks to assess their credit scores, but if we have a digital database with their payment habits, that will be a substitute and a good proxy for credit scoring," said Medalla.

"This actually helps in the financial inclusion advocacy of the BSP and the government," he said.

Filipinos have shown increased reliance on cashless payments in 2022 as it has become more convenient and easier to use, according to Visa.

At least 82 percent of consumers have attempted to go cashless in 2022, and the growth is seen across different generational bands, a study conducted by Visa showed.

The BSP has been pushing for the use of digital or cashless payments.

Under the BSP Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, it aims to convert 50 percent of retail payments into digital and onboard 70 percent of adult Filipinos into the formal financial system by the end of 2023.

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