The “Paleng-QR” digital payment system is now widely used in sixty-eight local government units (LGUs) across the country, particularly in their public and private markets, public transportation, business establishments, and even when taking a calesa ride in a locality.

The Paleng-QR Ph Plus program, a joint initiative of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), encourages cashless transactions using QR PH, the national standard for quick response or QR codes.

It is a priority initiative under the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028.

The latest addition to the list of LGUs using the Paleng QR are the province of Ilocos Sur and the city of Vigan, which recently held separate ceremonies highlighting their adoption of the system.

Gracing the twin events was BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who also presented Sofia Sison, a “kutsera” or driver of a kalesa or two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage in Vigan who accepts digital payments from her passengers as “pamasahe” for the kalesa rides.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. emphasized, “The launch of Paleng-QR Ph Plus in Ilocos is a step toward bringing digitalization across the country to build a financially inclusive and resilient society. By using the QRPh codes in daily payment transactions, business owners and their customers can expand their digital financial footprint. This will give them access to a wider range of financial services, such as credit, savings, insurance, and investment.”

Deputy Governor Romulo-Puyat also underscored the role of local government units (LGUs) which issue the respective ordinance to promote Paleng-QR PH in their localities and get the program rolling after the launch.

“Ang mga LGU ay tagapagsulong ng tagumpay ng programang ito,” she underscored.

To date, 68 LGUs have been onboarded onto the nationwide Paleng-QR Ph Plus program.

The BSP has announced that it will establish and launch 21 to 22 additional Paleng-QR Ph Plus within the year.

Based on information, the next LGUs that will adopt the Paleng-QR system will include Cabanatuan City, General Santos City, Imus City, Kidapawan City, Laoag City, Valenzuela City, Tarlac, Bataan, and Ilocos Norte, among others.

The BSP disclosed that it aims to convert half of the total volume of retail payments in the country into digital form.

The bank likewise envisions to onboard 70 percent of Filipinos to the formal financial system under the BSP’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023.

📷 BSP website