4 ways technology has influenced Filipinos’ financial habits

Image Credit: Ken Wilson Lee

The internet and other technological advances have been changing the way Filipinos live their lives. In fact, according to the State of Digital Marketing in the Philippines, the Philippines ranks second in Southeast Asia and sixth in the whole of Asia in terms of the number of internet users.

This should not come as a surprise, knowing that Filipinos are a very tech-savvy population with 34 percent of us visiting the internet every day. The number of internet users in Philippines is expected to grow by 11.3 percent in 2016, when it is expected that 59 percent of Filipinos will already be internet users.

We see how technology is being used in almost every aspect of our daily lives—our personal financial management included as well. But in what ways exactly?

Here are four of them:

Online banking

Most of our banking-related transactions used to take place in the bank branch itself. However, technology has enabled us to conduct a lot of the same transactions online. In fact, a Citigroup online poll states that every three out of four Filipinos are now comfortable conducting banking transactions online.

The study further reveals that 75 percent of Filipinos today do most of their banking transactions using computers, tablets, or mobile phones. Whereas, only 9 percent say that they have not tried online banking at all.

Many Philippine banks these days already offer secure online portals for their customers. Among the most popular transactions being conducted online include account inquiries, bill payments, and fund transfers between accounts.

Doing these transactions online saves us a lot of time and effort, and helps us manage our finances better.

Online shopping

Ecommerce in the Philippines is growing, as Visa Ecommerce Consumer Monitor 2014 reveals that Filipinos are shifting to mobile phones for online shopping.

51 percent of those surveyed browse for products online while 29 percent proceed to make their purchase using their phones. It is the convenience of online shopping that Filipinos find appealing, allowing 63 percent of them to compare prices without the need to go to the physical stores.

As far as payment goes, the study shows that 65 percent prefer using payment cards, 35 percent prefer cash on delivery while 34 percent prefer bank transfers when online shopping.

Bill payments (39 percent), fashion-related items (39 percent), and movie tickets (34 percent) are the top three categories for online transactions.

Mobile payments

Despite the continuous and growing popularity of online shopping in the country, the digital marketplace still depends highly on cash-on-delivery payments and bank transfers instead of credit cards. In fact, credit card penetration in the country is one of the lowest in the region.

Online pawning