‘Philippines fintech infrastructure still weak despite widespread usage’

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April 15, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s financial technology infrastructure remains weak due to costly transactions despite the widespread adaptation of digital finance platforms, a recent study showed.

Based on The Philippine Fintech Stack report by local venture capital firm Kaya Founders, the country’s digital ecosystem remains “over-distributed and under-infrastructured,” despite more than 70 million e-wallet users in the country.

“Digital finance in the Philippines has reached meaningful scale. The constraint now is not innovation at the app layer, but coordination at the infrastructure layer,” the report, said.

Kaya said Filipinos are abandoning their traditional bank accounts in favor of e-wallets. It said 34 percent of Filipino adults held accounts in regulated banks in 2024, declining from 46 percent in 2021.

It added that digital activities are rarely translated into formal, risking creditworthiness, access to larger-ticket loans, or participation fully in savings and investment products.

The report stated that digital wallet transactions remain costly compared to global standards, noting that integration remains fragmented, raising costs and weakening network effects.

The firm said that InstaPay charges P10 to P25 per transaction, while PESONet transactions may reach up to P50. Compared to India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix digital transaction may be charged a fee between zero and P0.50.

It said that higher transaction costs also limit the usage of payment platforms among Filipinos. InstaPay, utilized by most e-wallet users, averages at three transactions per month compared to transactions from Brazil which averages 25 and India at 14 per month.

Kaya said users and merchants may limit their usage of digital wallets to basic transfers when payments remain costly, rigid, and inconsistent.

“Until the Philippines levels up its payment infrastructure, these “network effects” will remain out of reach, leaving the economy with a foundational layer that is functional, but far from transformative,” the report added.