Filipinos Spent Over 4 Million Hours On E-Wallet Apps In 2022 – Study

Nearly 60 million Filipinos spent 4.4 million hours on e-wallet applications in 2022, according to a report from online lending app Digido. 

Fourteen apps available on the iOS App Store and Google Play were analyzed. According to Digido, these e-wallets were from companies that possessed electronic money issuer (EMI) and operator payment systems (OPS) licenses. 

The 14 apps were: 

• CIS Bayad Center
• Coins.ph
• eCebuana
• GCash
• Juan Cash
• Lazada Wallet
• Mango
• MarCo Pay
• Maya
• Moneygment
• PayLoro
• Star Pay
• Tagcash
• Toktokwallet

EMIs are “digital alternatives” of banks and are licensed to manage transactions and debit cards issuance through an online platform. Clients can use either this platform, or their debit card, to carry out transactions. 

OPS on the other hand, are institutions maintaining a platform that enables payments or fund transfers, and operate the system or network for transactions to be made through payment instruments, according to the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Circular No. 1049.

Digido said the 14 companies have a combined total of 114.4 unique downloads as of December 2022, and represented 20 percent of total downloads from the business and finance categories. 

A 632 percent (+99 million) increase in downloads was seen from December 2018 to 2022 among the apps, while 2022 alone saw a 30.5 percent (+26.7 million) increase. Based on this, Digido noted that the e-wallet market grows by about 4.3 percent monthly.

Fifty-eight million active users were recorded as of December 2022, which was an eight percent (-5 million) decrease from December 2021.

Digido said the figure is equivalent to 72 percent of the Philippine population aged 15 and above based on the United Nations' (UN) estimates.

User growth was highest between 2020 and 2021 where a 187.1 percent increase, or about 41 million people becoming e-wallet users was observed. 

From February 2020 to December 2021, active users increased from about 20 million, to about 60 million within the timeframe, and was attributed to necessity given the pandemic-induced circumstances. 

Based on the figures, and potential for simultaneous use, it was estimated that an e-wallet application is used “every second” by a Filipino aged 15 and above.

Digido said on average, e-wallet users visited at least one of the apps 16 times per month in 2022 and 2021, a decrease from 2019’s 19, and 2020’s 17 times per month respectively. 

Digido predicted that by 2025, the total number of accounts of the 14 examined apps could reach 81 million, which is a 39.5 percent increase (+22.9 million) from 2022’s 58 million. 

A slight 4.5 percent increase (+2.6 million) in 2023’s active users from 2022 was also noted. 

Digido attributed the growth to three reasons. First, the number of Filipinos aged 15 and above, based on UN estimates, is expected to reach 85.4 million by the end of 2025. 

Second, despite the global recession, the Philippine economy grew, Digido stated. Third, the international demand for electronic money is increasing, according to data portal Statista. Based on data, digital payment volumes will grow by 42.6 percent from 2023 to 2025, while the users would increase by 18.6 percent.

Digido offers lending solutions through its mobile app and official website for the underbanked and underserved Philippine consumers. Digido is part of the larger Singapore-based Robocash Group, which is servicing millions of clients across the globe.