Philippines: younger consumers to use cards for online transactions

According to the “Connecting with the Millennials” survey conducted by Visa, 8 of 10 Filipinos between 18 and 28 years old believe that they could use their electronic cards to pay for their bills online.

The same source has indicated that 69 percent of the respondents have stated that they could make online payments using their mobile devices.

However, data shows that Filipino Millennials, who are born between 1982 and 1992, are currently still more comfortable using cash when making payments. According to results, 70 percent of Filipinos use cash the most among Asian countries. Moreover, 7 in 10 consumers have chosen cash as their preferred payment method. Given this, ownership of debit and credit cards is lower than their neighbors with an average of 1.51 percent and 0.96 percent cards per person.

The same study reveals that Filipinos are worried when it comes to credit cards and debit cards because of the general lack of awareness of the benefits of electronic payment, since Filipino Millennials perceive that with an electronic payment card, they may be mischarged or not be able to use their cards at shops.

On the other hand, 7 in 10 Filipinos have a disciplined approach when it comes to money. Almost 89 percent of Filipinos have relied on parental advice and 31 percent on the internet for financial advice.

The findings also mention that one in two Filipinos have declared that they cant live without their computers/laptops, while 37 percent have stated that a smartphone is a must-have. With regard to online shipping, statistics show that Filipinos use online shopping the least among Asians. Almost 72 percent of Filipino Millennials have tried online shopping once. But only a small percentage shop online at least once a month, paling in comparison to South Korea, where 99 percent go online to shop. For online purchases, they use credit cards (26 percent), cash on delivery (13 percent), or debit cards (10 percent).

The Visa study features interviews with 500 young urban Filipinos who belong to higher income groups.