Philippines ranks first globally in regular use of online financial services, says report

THE PHILIPPINES has the highest number of regular users of online financial services in the world, according to a report by consumer intelligence firm Meltwater and creative agency We Are Social.

Findings in the firms’ 2025 Global Digital Report showed that 91.3% of Filipino internet users aged 16 years old and higher said they use a banking, investment or insurance website or app each month.

“The Philippines is the highest globally and far exceeds Brazil which comes in #2 (74.8%), and the global average of 37.8%,” they said in a statement.

The total transaction value of consumer digital payments in the Philippines was at 9.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 versus the global average of 10.5%, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the average full-year 2024 value of consumer digital payments average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Philippines was at $1,170, well below the global average of $3,240, the report showed.

Still, the Philippines’ digital payments ARPU as a percentage of GDP per capita was at 28.2%, higher than the global average of 18.9% and ranked at sixth worldwide.

These results came even as only 21.7% of Filipino internet users use mobile payment services monthly versus the 24% average globally.

“Credit card adoption is sluggish where only 8.1% of Filipino adults own a credit card,” Meltwater and We Are Social said. The worldwide average was at 24.5%.

Debit card adoption in the Philippines was higher at 29.8%, but was still well below the global average of 52.8%, the report showed.

On the other hand, cryptocurrency ownership among Filipino adults stood at 14.8% last year, above the 9.6% average worldwide, it said.

It added that 11.1% of Filipino respondents said they used an online gambling or betting website or app in the past month, higher than 7.6% globally. Online gambling ARPU in the country stood at $180, among the lowest worldwide, although this was at 4.32% compared to GDP per capital.

INTERNET USEMeanwhile, Filipinos spend an average of eight hours and 52 minutes daily on the internet, Meltwater and We Are Social said, ranking third worldwide and well ahead of the global average of six hours and 38 minutes.

“Most of this time on the internet is spent on their mobile phones at five hours and 21 minutes, which is also significantly ahead of the global average of three hours and 46 minutes,” they said.

Despite this, the Philippines had one of the lowest median mobile internet connection download speeds in the world at 35.56 Megabits per second (Mbps) compared with the global average of 61.52 Mbps, the report showed.

Fixed internet connection speeds in the Philippines stood at 93.68 Mbps, closer to the 95.10 Mbps average worldwide.

Meanwhile, 98.9% of Filipino internet users use chat and messenger services monthly, also higher than the 94.5% average globally. It added that 94.2% of Filipino adults use e-mail services and 49.5% use mobile video calling services monthly.

The report also showed that 97.6% Filipino users aged 16 and above said they watch video content online every week, above the global benchmark of 92%.

“They are heavily drawn to online videos and are ranked #2 in using them as a source of learning (58.1%), and #1 in watching vlogs (48.3%) and online music videos (72.3%), far exceeding any of their global peers,” the companies said.

“Filipinos also rank #1 in the world for playing video games, with 96.6% of internet users aged 16+ playing video games on any device. The global average stands at 83.6%.”

Lastly, Filipino internet users aged 16 and above ranked fourth globally in terms of social media usage, spending an average of three hours and 32 minutes on social media daily.

Some 44.9% of these respondents said they follow influencers or experts on social media, ranking first in the world.

“Filipino internet users actively use about 8.36 platforms each month. This makes them the #2 country in the world that uses the most number of social media platforms,” Meltwater and We Are Social said. — B.M.D. Cruz