E-wallets accelerate Philippine e-commerce to double government-set 5.5% of the GDP

Jun 8, 2022 #e-wallets

According to a study by UnaCash, the penetration of e-wallets is one of the main contributing factors to the rapid development of e-commerce in the Philippines. Analysts estimate mobile wallets can add up 2.3 Trillion PHP to the Philippines economy, reaching twice the milestone of the 5.5% share of eCommerce to the national GDP.

The share of online-buyers making the purchase every week has almost reached 2/3 of the total audience, accounting for at least 12 million people after the pandemic. Philippine e-commerce is becoming more developed. Yet, its growth stands at just 3% of all retail transactions, making it the outsider of the APAC region (for comparison, the eCommerce share in China is 45%).

E-wallets usage is one of the main contributing factors enabling the swift development of e-Commerce. Given the low 2% credit card penetration in the region, digital wallets are becoming essential for online-shopping, bypassing all restrictions that come with “physical” money.

An average check accounts to 1,650 PHP (33 USD) and an estimated current level of unique e-wallet users in the country accounts to 40 mln. Taking into account the number of online shoppers using e-wallets with an average check and the number of purchases per year, mobile wallets can add up to an impressive 2.316 Trillion PHP. This means that the users of digital/mobile wallets can reach twice the government-set milestone of the 5.5% share of eCommerce to the national GDP. E-wallets promise to push Philippine e-commerce beyond the boldest estimates of the past years, given the current pace of digitalisation of society.

The analysts of UnaCash noted that e-commerce is already witnessing rapid development of digital wallets. In 2020, they accounted for 20% of all transactions. In May 2021, the share had increased to 37%. With such rapid development, the assumption can be made that about 45-50% of online purchases are already paid through digital wallets or will be paid in the very near future.