{"id":207990,"date":"2025-09-07T16:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207990\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T16:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:01:12","slug":"cebus-cashless-experiment-promise-progress-and-persistent-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/207990\/","title":{"rendered":"Cebu\u2019s cashless experiment: Promise, progress, and persistent barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

CEBU CITY, Philippines \u2013 For 15 years, Bernadette Emnace started her mornings counting coins across her pork stall in Carbon Market. These days, that familiar clink is slowly being replaced by the buzz of her phone, each alert signaling a customer\u2019s payment through a quick response (QR) code.<\/p>\n

\u201cPara nako, okay gyud kaayo ang cashless payment (For me, cashless payment is very convenient),\u201d said Emnace, 52, who supplies pork to walk-in buyers and restaurants. The thick stacks of bills she once carried are thinning, replaced by digital receipts that arrive instantly.<\/p>\n

Even buyers feel the shift. Lovely Adolfo, 24, a corporate employee, relies on electronic wallets for nearly everything, from groceries and utilities to coffee runs and daily treats.<\/p>\n

\u201cHandy ra gyud kaayo ang phone kay naay app. Di na ko magdala ug daghang kwarta (It\u2019s very handy because the app is on my phone.\u00a0 I no longer have to bring cash),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Their stories reflect a broader reality: cashless payments<\/a> are becoming the default in Metro Cebu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Cebu\u2019s<\/p>\n

Bernadette Emnace, a pork trader at Carbon Public Market, says she has fully embraced cashless payments when transacting with customers. | CDN Photo by Pia Piquero<\/p>\n

Government programs now push financial inclusion through e-wallets and QR codes in public markets like Carbon in Cebu City and in Mandaue City. Yet challenges persist, from unreliable internet signals to vendors\u2019 trust issues, reminding everyone that the road to a fully digital economy is still uneven.<\/p>\n

Numbers behind the shift<\/p>\n

The pandemic accelerated what was once a slow digital shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As contactless payments became safer and more convenient, Cebu\u2019s markets eventually embraced cashless payments, such as simply scanning QR codes.<\/p>\n

A 2025 survey by researchers from the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) revealed that approximately 93 percent of Cebuanos support cashless payments<\/a>. Most use e-wallets for online transactions.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the study revealed that a staggering 99.2 percent stated they understand what a cashless system is, and 54.2 percent reported being \u201cvery comfortable\u201d using digital payment methods.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it showed that \u201cregular engagement with digital payments\u201d emerged as the strongest predictor of support for cashless payments. Not demographics nor gender.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The numbers show that Cebu is racing forward. But the question now is whether every barangay, down to the wet market and sari-sari store, can keep pace.<\/p>\n

Cashless down to the markets<\/p>\n

Cashless payments also served as an opportunity for both the public and private sectors to make banking and other financial services more accessible. That\u2019s why they launched the Paleng-QR PH program in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ufeff
\n\"Made <\/a><\/p>\n

The initiative was designed to bring cashless transactions to wet markets, tricycles, and community stalls, the very places where people buy rice, pay fares, or haggle over vegetables, transactions that form the heartbeat of everyday life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Cebu City, the Paleng-QR PH Plus program was formally launched in 2024. A year later, QR codes were taped to wooden stalls and laminated on counters across Carbon, though cash still dominates daily transactions.<\/p>\n

Of the nearly 3,948 ambulant vendors and 1,700 stall holders registered under the Office of the City Markets (OCM), around 60 to 70 percent initially adopted QR payments last year.<\/p>\n

But many dropped out because of weak signal and the lack of digital literacy, particularly among older sellers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Data privacy and security, dependence on technology, and the exclusion of those without access to technology (digital divide) are the most prominent challenges when it comes to fully embracing a cashless society, according to the same study from CIT-U.<\/p>\n

\"Cebu\u2019s<\/p>\n

A QR code dangling from a stall in Carbon Public Market in Cebu City. | CDN Photo by Pia Piquero<\/p>\n

\u201cPagbuot gyud na sa vendor if mag-cashless sila. Dili man gyud namo ipugos (It\u2019s up to the vendors if they will accept cashless payments or not. We cannot force them),\u201d said Irenea Geneston, market supervisor from the Office of the City Markets (OCM), noting that many older sellers remain hesitant.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, market officials remain optimistic that traders across age groups will embrace cashless payment methods as their benefits outweigh the risks and hurdles.<\/p>\n

These include fewer robbery cases, smoother wholesale transactions, and fewer disputes over change, according to Market Administrator Nathaniel Chua.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Made <\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe envision nga mag-cashless transaction nata kay mao naman gyud ni ang new way of business (a future of cashless transactions since that\u2019s where we\u2019re headed, and that\u2019s our new way of business),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, older vendors remain cautious.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beautician Marlyn Paran, 54, admitted she avoids apps altogether. Flower vendor Cirila Vasquez, 65, briefly tried popular e-wallet provider GCash but stopped after sending money to the wrong account.<\/p>\n

\u201cDili lang usa ko gusto mag GCash (I won\u2019t be using GCash in the meantime),\u201d Vasquez said, though she expects to return eventually.<\/p>\n

\"Cebu\u2019s<\/p>\n

| CDN Photo by Pia Piquero<\/p>\n

Likewise, in neighboring Mandaue City, around 90 percent of the 734 stall owners in the Mandaue City Public Market registered for Paleng-QR as of 2023. Although sustaining momentum proved difficult, as faded QR codes and weak signals discouraged use.<\/p>\n

Beyond the markets: barangays go digital<\/p>\n

Additionally, the push for financial inclusion is no longer confined to city markets. Local governments are now bringing digital systems to the barangay level, the smallest but most critical units of governance.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Barangay Bacayan in Cebu City launched the Bacayan Information System, the first fully customized mobile platform designed to deliver local services, with cashless payments set for rollout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Barangay Captain Winston Pepito said the goal was simple: make digital governance accessible even to small communities.<\/p>\n

Other barangays are preparing to follow. Barangay Kalubihan, with just over 1,500 residents, is still cash-based but already eyeing the shift. Barangay San Antonio is studying digital payments for faster service, with compliance safeguards in mind to satisfy auditors.<\/p>\n

Future outlook<\/p>\n

For Cebu\u2019s market administrators, the challenge now is sustaining momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Made <\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chua believes educating wholesalers will be key: \u201cWith cashless, even if the owner is out of town, he can just send the payment remotely. The driver shows proof, the truck enters, no collusion, no robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Mandaue, Market Administrator, lawyer Athena Salas-Duran, said visibility is their focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city will soon be negotiating with GCash to provide sturdier \u201ccentrum boards\u201d, which include durable QR displays for every stall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf customers see a QR code, they won\u2019t even ask. Automatic na ug transact (They will automatically transact),\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Despite setbacks, both officials are confident: cashless payments will soon be as common as weighing scales in markets.<\/p>\n

For pork vendor Bernadette Emnace, the shift already feels real. What used to be hours of sorting bills has become a few taps on her phone. She now walks home with less cash in her pocket and fewer worries.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery safe,\u201d she said simply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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