Google Pay goes live in the Philippines

Google Pay on Tuesday officially launched its operations in the Philippines, allowing users of nine initial financial institutions to tap their smartphones to make payments with their linked debit or credit cards and e-money accounts

For users to make contactless payments, they will first add their debit or credit cards to Google Wallet using Google Pay using an Android phone capable of near field communication (NFC). The service works for online purchases and in apps.

The service is now available in the Philippines through the launching partner issuers — China Banking Corp., East West Banking Corp., GCash, GoTyme Bank Corp., Maya Bank Inc., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines, Wise Philippines, and Zed Financial PH Inc.

“Google’s mission in the payments world is to make money movement simple, easy, [and] convenient. Whether you want to do it online or whether you want to do it offline,” Google Pay Asia-Pacific strategic partnerships lead TG Ramakrishnan said in Taguig City.

“The way we look at it in Google, especially in this region, is how do we solve for this diverse set of users who have diverse payment methods and diverse behavior to make payments simple and easy?” he added.

Tuesday’s launch was hosted by digital payments provider Visa, which provides the tokenization of cards for safer transactions. Visa has issued over 10 billion tokens as of 2024, with more than 1.5 million e-commerce merchants transacting every day.

“By extending this secure, convenient way to pay across shops, public transport, and tourist destinations, we make it easier for visitors to spend, empower local merchants to embrace digital payments, and support the Philippines’ vision of a cash-lite economy, driving stronger tourism and greater financial inclusion,” Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro said.

Navarro said more Visa-partner banks are expected to be onboarded in the coming year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) deputy governor Mamerto Tangonan in August clarified that it deemed Google Pay and Apple Pay as technology service providers, and will have to register as operators of payment systems (OPS).

“I think it can contribute a lot towards enhancing the digital payments experience and hopefully convert more non-users or light users to digital because, you know, experiencing the product, it offers or it addresses common objections that we hear from non-users and light users,” he said on Tuesday.

“In the overall scheme of things, this adds a convenient and secure option, but of course, I would like to make it clear that the BSP supports all efficient and safe options of making digital payments, this included,” he added.

The central bank last December said Google Pay and Apple Pay were exploring offering their services to the Philippine market, but were initially thought to need prior registration as OPS.

Data released by the central bank show that digital retail payments accounted for 57.4% of the volume of total transactions in 2024, higher than the 52-54% target set under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

The total value of monthly digital payments for the year was $136.0 billion, accounting for 59.0% of the country’s overall retail transaction value. —AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News