An increasingly digital market spearheaded by the widespread use of GCash, Maya, the systematic adoption of cashless payments and transfers by banks, and the rising emergence of financial technology startups has shown a changing tide in the Philippine economy. As of 2026, more than 95 million Filipinos use electronic money platforms to transact daily—be it through their bill payments, fund transfers, or investment in virtual assets.
This also marks a step change only seen in the previous decade, where technology innovations have permeated through all aspects of the Filipino life. Socializing, ideating, and sharing have mostly become digital. In fact, there is a strong consensus, according to industry experts and the general population, that participating and integrating digitalization is a necessity, not a privilege.
We see this in sari-sari stores that accept electronic payment, not only cash. We see this in news-sharing from digital outlets, beyond the physical newspaper. We see this in almost everything we touch and interact with.
Beyond the personal, there is also the case for the interconnectivity brought about by the constant iterations to digitalization. What used to take days in transferring funds have now resided in ‘insta-pay’ or ‘cash-in’ buttons. What used to demand faxes between business have now been replaced by emails. Thus, digitalization is a must for constant improvement, and vice versa, for the improvement of everything it touches.
Currently, the focus expands to the broader economic environment. During the ASEAN Tech Summit, Jose Concepcion III—founder of GoNegosyo, and chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC)—highlighted the importance of having a digital and borderless financial landscape. He talked about inclusivity among Filipinos, from the bottom-up, as the way forward.
Concepcion is one of the drafters of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement. Under this framework, the cross-border digital economy among countries within the ASEAN region is standardized; the security of transactions is governed; micro, small and medium enterprises are supported; and that technologies like artificial intelligence, the blockchain, cloud computing are integrated. The Philippines’ competitiveness in the global sphere is one of the implied targets of the framework.
ASEAN was founded in 1967 with the goals, among others, of shared harmony and innovation. More to the point, akin to the founding of the European Union, ASEAN aims to enlarge the global relevance (and presence) of Southeast Asia by the collective pooling of economic powers. It makes for an elevation of the region to be within equals to the EU, Americas, and so on. The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement is a talking point among its proponents for a future-proofed ASEAN region.
To keep in line with expansion in the global stage, the Philippines must not only participate in international digitalization but also become a proactive spearhead through local inclusion. This is the thesis of Concepcion at the ASEAN tech summit. He calls on Filipinos to enable technical progress in borderless payments and electronic payments, among others.
The Digital Economy in The Philippines
Conception’s presented thesis at the ASEAN tech summit is only a follow up for the government’s long-term plan for the country’s digitalization. While there are still many roads ahead to keep up with the global economy for application of digital economy, it must be noted that the Philippines has made a progress still. Studies show that the country’s digital economy has a rapid expansion, and this change is enabled by the government, initiatives of private sectors, and dynamic technology adaption through years of development.
The country’s current control for this implementation is in The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, proposed and implemented by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board. The PDP is a national plan focused on filling the widening gap of broadband access and enhancing public service delivery (from public and private entities, across all sectors) by implementing digitalization. On other hand, while the national plan is available, Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP), a project launched by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) addresses giving better digital connectivity to rural and undeserved regions. This project resulted in 70% of government services availability online, now accessible to every Filipino with an internet connection.
Financial Inclusion through Digitalization
As a 3rd world country, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP)’s initiative to change the regulatory landscape by implementing protocols and policies for a digital-first economy has greatly contributed to continuous financial growth and participation of Filipinos. Throughout the years, BSP has rolled out plans after plans, to further expand the digital systems in the financial industry. Some of the examples of the successful rolled out programs are establishing National Retail Payment System (NRPS) which consist of two popular automated clearing houses, InstaPay and PESONet; Open Finance PH, a collaboration project with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank to consumer-centric financial products for small businesses. These are just a few of the many initiatives of BSP to provide widespread access to financial services.
DOPAY, a part of Digital Economy
DOPAY is an application licensed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) and Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP). As a part of the Digital Economy, DOPAY helps in building financial inclusion for all by providing digital services of crypto trading and remittance for low prices, lessening the financial burden of consumers.
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