Leaving Money on the Table: Corporate and SME Experiences of Digitizing Business Payments in the Philippines

This case study builds the evidence base regarding business payments in the Philippines, the incentives businesses face, and what it would take to shift corporates decisively to digital payments. The case draws on in-depth interviews with commercial banks and Filipino corporates, complemented by a survey of 400 small businesses employing between 2 and 25 people in Metro Manila in 2014. The case study found that a typical medium to large Filipino business could save 25% of its invoice handling costs if it shifted half of those payments to electronic transfers (direct credits) on current terms. A full shift to digital payment and processing would save 46%. In the banking sector, digital inter-bank “cross” payments could boost net profit by approximately 8.5% through the use and collection of low-cost fees rather than relying on float income.