BSP Survey: Philippines financial inclusion rises to 58% amid digital payments push
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reports that Filipino adults with “formal financial accounts” jumped from 48% to 58% in one year. The March 2026 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey of 1,500 adults (age 18+) shows the same upward trend across regions, income levels and education.
Yet, many remain unbanked due to “lack of money, unemployment, and limited knowledge” about opening accounts. Among surveyed adults, 43% reported e-money accounts (e.g., e-wallets) and 21% reported bank accounts. About one in three unbanked respondents said a household member owns an account.
The BSP linked progress to digitalization initiatives, including Paleng-QR PH Plus (QR-based payments plus on-site account opening). Cash still dominates payments: Worldpay data shows cash is 42% of POS transaction value. GCash remains the largest mobile wallet by e-commerce value (41%) and POS payments (29%) in 2025, supported by wide consumer use and merchant connectivity.
A2A rails are also expanding via InstaPay and QR PH. In 2025, A2A accounted for up to 13% of e-commerce value and 7% of POS payments.
Policy direction is moving toward tokenization and CBDC use. The BSP is nearing progress on the eBayad Act to streamline government digital payments. It is also developing a wholesale CBDC roadmap for interbank settlements and securities/cross-border payments. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said CBDC may be used to settle tokenized Treasury bonds, following a Treasury pilot that lacked a settlement instrument.
Key figure: BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the BSP will keep broadening access so more Filipinos can save and manage expenses.
Neutral
This is largely a financial-inclusion and payments infrastructure update rather than a direct crypto market catalyst. The BSP survey shows progress: “formal financial accounts” in the Philippines rose to 58%, which supports wider onboarding into digital finance (a long-term tailwind for crypto-adjacent payment rails). However, the article does not announce immediate token listings, protocol changes, or policy actions that would directly move BTC/ETH-style liquidity in the short term.
The potentially market-relevant part is the policy direction: BSP’s wholesale CBDC roadmap and the idea of using CBDC to settle tokenized Treasury bonds. Similar themes—tokenized government securities and CBDC pilots—have historically been more supportive to crypto market sentiment over time than immediately price-reactive. Traders may treat this as “narrative bullishness” for compliant tokenization infrastructure, but with limited near-term impact on volatility because implementation timelines are typically gradual and not tied to tradable assets in public exchanges.
Net effect: expect neutral-to-slight narrative lift, but no strong directional move signal for major coins.