# Philippines — payment codes and schemes

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PH
> extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

## Summary

- **QR Ph** is the national unified QR standard
- **InstaPay** powers real-time P2P transfers (PHP 10.2T in Jan-Nov 2025)
- **PESONet** handles batch/high-value transfers (PHP 11.8T)
- **57.4% digital payments** in retail volume (2024)
- **4.065 billion transactions** via InstaPay/PESONet (Jan-Nov 2025)

## Banking landscape

### Central Bank
- **Name:** Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
- **Website:** https://www.bsp.gov.ph/
- **Role:** Monetary policy, payment systems oversight

### Major Banks (2024)

| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|------|-----------|------|------------------|
| 1 | BDO Unibank | Private | BDO Digital Banking |
| 2 | BPI | Private | BPI Online/Mobile |
| 3 | Metrobank | Private | Metrobank Mobile |
| 4 | Landbank | State-owned | iAccess |
| 5 | UnionBank | Private | UnionBank Online |

### Market Structure
- **Universal banks:** BDO, BPI, Metrobank lead
- **State bank:** Landbank (government)
- **Digital pioneer:** UnionBank
- **E-wallets:** GCash, Maya dominant

### 2024 Performance
- 52.8% digital retail payments (2023)
- 57.4% achieved by 2024
- Targeting 60-70% by 2028

---

## Payment infrastructure

### National Payment Systems

| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|--------|----------|------|--------|
| InstaPay | PPMI/BSP | Real-time retail | Active |
| PESONet | PPMI/BSP | Batch clearing | Active |
| QR Ph | BSP | Unified QR | Active |
| PhilPaSS | BSP | RTGS | Active |

### Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI)
- Operates InstaPay and PESONet
- Industry-led, BSP-supervised
- Interoperability mandate

### 2025 Statistics (Jan-Nov)

| System | Value | Growth |
|--------|-------|--------|
| InstaPay | PHP 10.209T | +56.18% YoY |
| PESONet | PHP 11.845T | +27.66% YoY |
| Combined | PHP 22.054T | +41.15% YoY |
| Volume | 4.065B | +203.6% YoY |

---

## QR code standards

### QR Ph

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| **Operator** | BSP |
| **Foundation** | InstaPay rails |
| **Interoperability** | All banks + e-wallets |
| **Logo** | Red-blue-yellow |

### QR Ph Features
- Single QR for all participating institutions
- Merchant payments (P2M)
- Person-to-person (P2P)
- UnionBank, BPI, GCash, Maya compatible

### InstaPay QR vs QR Ph
- **InstaPay QR:** P2P transfers (InstaPay logo)
- **QR Ph:** Merchant payments (red-blue-yellow logo)
- Both interoperable across institutions

### Transaction Limits

| System | Limit |
|--------|-------|
| InstaPay | PHP 50,000/transaction |
| PESONet | PHP 250,000+ (bank-dependent) |

---

## Mobile payment apps

| App | Provider | QR Ph | InstaPay |
|-----|----------|-------|----------|
| GCash | Globe | Yes | Yes |
| Maya | Voyager | Yes | Yes |
| BDO Pay | BDO | Yes | Yes |
| BPI Mobile | BPI | Yes | Yes |
| UnionBank | UnionBank | Yes | Yes |

### E-wallet Dominance
- **GCash:** Largest e-wallet (60M+ users)
- **Maya:** Second largest (formerly PayMaya)
- Both integrated with QR Ph

### Bank Mobile Apps
- BDO Digital Banking
- BPI Online/Mobile
- Metrobank Mobile
- UnionBank Online
- Landbank iAccess

---

## Schemes

| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [QR Ph](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PH/qr-ph) | Unified QR | EMVCo | Universal | [`qr-ph`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qr-ph) |
| [InstaPay QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PH/instapay-qr) | Payment QR | PPMI | Widespread | [`instapay-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/instapay-qr) |
| [PESONet](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PH/pesonet) | Batch transfer | PPMI | Active | — |

## Sources

- [BSP - Payments Bulletin](https://www.bsp.gov.ph/PaymentAndSettlement/PPDD_Payments_Bulletin.pdf)
- [PPMI About Us](https://www.philpayments.org.ph/aboutus)
- [Transfi - Philippines Payment Rails](https://www.transfi.com/blog/philippines-payment-rails-how-they-work---from-instapay-pesonet-to-gcash-maya-real-time-transfers)
- [BusinessWorld - InstaPay PESONet P22T](https://www.bworldonline.com/banking-finance/2025/12/24/720720/transfers-via-instapay-pesonet-hit-p22-trillion/)
- [CoinGeek - Philippines Digital Payments 2024](https://coingeek.com/philippines-digital-payments-surpass-2024-targets-bsp-says/)
- [FintechNews PH - Q1 2024](https://fintechnews.ph/62547/digital-payments/pesonet-and-instapay-digital-transactions-surge-in-q1-2024-hitting-p3-81-trillion/)
- [FintechNews PH - Real-Time Payments](https://fintechnews.ph/63572/payments/real-time-payments-philippines/)
- [Ian Macalinao - InstaPay Barriers](https://ianm.com/posts/2024-12-16-instapay)
- [HitPay - QR Ph 2025](https://hitpayapp.com/blog/activating-qr-ph-for-your-brick-and-mortar-store-in-2025-hitpay-scan-to-pay-vs-maya-qr)
- [Wise - Payment Gateway Philippines](https://wise.com/ph/blog/payment-gateway-philippines)

## Full country report

[PH-philippines.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/PH)