Manila, Philippines – Digital payments through QR Ph and InstaPay grew 198% on Xendit’s platform in the 15 months to April 2026, although cash-on-delivery (COD) remains more prevalent in the Philippines than in other Southeast Asian markets, according to data released by payments infrastructure company Xendit.
The findings also show that 41% of Filipino online shoppers who abandoned an online purchase in the previous three months cited the absence of their preferred payment method as the main reason.
The Philippine findings draw on responses from 1,000 Filipino online shoppers, as part of a survey covering 6,000 consumers across six Southeast Asian markets, alongside Xendit’s transaction data.
“Filipino consumers have always been receptive to new technology and we see the same in digital payment, but they don’t all pay the same way. One wants an e-wallet, another scans a QR Ph code, another uses a card,” said Nazim Ali, President of Xendit.
“So for a business, going digital isn’t about choosing one main payment method and steering everyone onto it. It’s knowing which methods your digitally savvy customers actually use, offering those, and making sure each one is secure. If people can’t find the option they use, or don’t trust the checkout, they leave,” Ali continued.
QR Ph and InstaPay gain ground
QR Ph and InstaPay, which support real-time QR payments and bank transfers, now account for about 13% of e-commerce transaction value recorded on Xendit’s platform.
The market remains heavily reliant on e-wallets, with GCash a dominant option. However, e-wallet payments on Xendit’s platform grew by just 3% over the same 15-month period, compared with the 198% increase recorded for QR Ph and InstaPay.
The growth comes as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas continues efforts to encourage the use of digital payment channels.
Across Southeast Asia, QR payments were the method most frequently identified by surveyed business leaders as experiencing the strongest increase in customer demand, cited by 32% of respondents. E-wallets and bank transfers each received 20%.
Cash-on-delivery remains prevalent
COD accounts for about 23% of Philippine e-commerce value on Xendit’s platform, the highest share among the six markets covered. Vietnam followed at around 16%, while the Philippine figure was nearly twice the combined share attributed to QR Ph and InstaPay.
Despite the continued use of COD, 33% of Filipino respondents said they used it much less frequently than a year earlier. However, 12% said nothing would persuade them to switch to another payment method, roughly twice the proportion in most other markets surveyed.
Among consumers willing to move to digital payments, discounts and cashback were the most commonly cited incentives, reflecting a broader regional pattern.
The findings project that the Philippines will be the only market among those covered where COD continues to account for more than a fifth of e-commerce transaction value in 2027.
Missing payment options contribute to abandoned purchases
The availability of payment methods remains a key factor in online checkout completion. Among Filipino shoppers who abandoned a purchase in the previous three months, 41% identified the lack of their preferred payment option as the main reason.
The same issue was cited by 51% of respondents in Indonesia and 31% in Malaysia. In Vietnam and Thailand, security concerns were the leading reasons for abandoned purchases, reported by 42% and 33% of respondents, respectively.
For merchants in the Philippines, the findings highlight the importance of offering payment methods that match customer preferences to reduce checkout abandonment.
Business leaders expect fraud concerns to increase
Fraud is not yet a leading payment concern for most business leaders surveyed, with 8% ranking it among their top two concerns. However, 48% expect fraud to become one of their leading payment concerns within five years.
The findings point to several challenges for Philippine merchants: accommodating the rapid growth of real-time payments, serving consumers who continue to rely on cash-on-delivery, and preparing for greater concerns about fraud.
Offering a wider range of payment options alongside appropriate security measures may help businesses address these changing consumer and operational needs.
