Do people in the Philippines still pay in cash?
Yes, but less every year. Non-digital payments still made up 35.3% of retail payment volume in 2025, according to the BSP, and only 50% of adults owned an account in 2025. Over-the-counter networks such as 7-Eleven CLiQQ and ECPay let cash users pay online.
In detail
Yes, but less every year. Non-digital payments still made up 35.3% of retail payment volume and 46.7% of value in 2025, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Digital payments reached 64.7% of volume, up from 10% in 2018.
Why cash persists
Half of adults still have no account of their own: the BSP consumer finance survey found 50% account ownership in 2025. At 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain, digital payments represented only about 7% of customer transactions in 2026, even though most stores accept them.
How cash users pay online
- Cash on delivery, about 23% of e-commerce payments.
- Over-the-counter payments with a reference at 7-Eleven CLiQQ, ECPay, Bayad, Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Express or M Lhuillier.
- Cash-in at the same counters to top up an e-wallet.
What it means for payment operators
For operators serving merchants in the Philippines, cash options reach shoppers that wallets and cards miss. Over-the-counter payments are asynchronous, so merchants need references with an expiry date, payment notifications and reconciliation that matches each counter payment to its order. A local provider covering the main networks handles this once for all merchants.