BIZ BUZZ: QR code rules

If you’re still reaching for your credit card at checkout, you may already be behind the curve.

Fintech firm PayMongo says QR code payments have become the dominant way Filipinos pay on its platform based on its data, overtaking cards in a dramatic shift toward mobile-first transactions.

The numbers tell the story. In the first half of 2026, the company processed nearly 10 million completed transactions—almost double the volume recorded a year earlier—while its merchant base expanded by 93 percent.

The biggest winner? QR Ph. What accounted for just 16 percent of PayMongo’s payment volume in 2025 now makes up 55 percent after posting more than 510-percent year-on-year growth.

Cards, once the platform’s biggest payment method with a 38-percent share, have slipped to just 19 percent. More notably, card transaction volume itself fell 8 percent from a year ago. Direct online banking also lost ground, declining 26 percent.

E-wallets remain popular, accounting for 21 percent of payment volume. Combined with QR Ph, they now represent 76 percent of total payment volume and roughly nine out of every 10 transactions processed by the platform.