QR Ph

QR Ph (officially the National QR Code Standard) is the standardized quick-response code system adopted in the Philippines, which is based on the Europay-Mastercard-VISA (EMV) standard. It serves as a swift and secure payment method for customers of both participating banks and non-bank electronic money issuers (EMI) in the country. Through QR Ph, users can conduct various transactions, including payments, fund transfers, and receipts from different bank and e-money accounts within the Philippines. The implementation of QR Ph has been officially endorsed by the Philippine Payments Management, Inc., following the guidelines set forth in Circular 1055 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Overview
As part of the BSP's commitment to ensuring secure and dependable payment systems in the Philippines, mandated under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11127 or the National Payment Systems Act, all payment service providers (PSPs) must comply with the National QR Code Standard, also known as "QR Ph" in this context. The QR Ph standard will be used for QR-enabled payment services provided to end users, in accordance with BSP Circular No. 1055.

The move towards digital payments aligns with the central bank's objective of promoting financial inclusion, particularly for small businesses and consumers, by providing them with convenient options for day-to-day transactions. Then BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno emphasized that this transition supports the goal of making the Philippine society more "cash-light" instead of its current "cash-heavy" state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has promoted the usage of cashless payments to cut down physical interaction and provide assistance to small businesses and workers.

BSP Governor Felipe Medalla highlighted the timely implementation of the QR Ph standard as the industry in this space actively develops. The move aims to ensure the support of QR-enabled payments through an interoperable QR Ph standard, facilitating convenience, speed, and ease for PSPs and their clients.

The adoption of the QR Ph standard currently focuses on two significant use cases in the Philippines: person-to-person and person-to-merchant payments, which constitute a substantial portion of the average total retail payments made by Filipinos monthly. The standardization of QR codes is expected to enhance customer and merchant experiences, promoting heavier utilization of digital payments.The BSP has released guidelines, detailed in a memorandum, facilitating the migration of non-QR Ph codes for electronic payment services to the QR Ph standard by July 1, 2023.