WITH the implementation of the Paleng-QR PH Plus program, the Mandaue City Government hopes to promote faster and more efficient transactions between merchants and consumers, as well as prevent the proliferation of counterfeit money and other illegal schemes that victimize store owners.
Mayor Jonas Cortes led the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with officials from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other stakeholders during the system’s official launch at the Mandaue City Public Market (MCPM) on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023.
In her speech, Charina de Vera-Yap, officer-in-charge of BSP’s Financial Inclusion and Consumer Empowerment Sub Section, said the program would allow the public to have access to other welfare-enhancing financial services like digital loans, savings and investments.
Cesar Mercadal, MCPM supervisor, said 572 of the 900 vendors and tricycle drivers, or roughly 64 percent, were registered to use digital wallets, as of Friday.
He said that even before the DILG and the BSP launched the Paleng-QR PH Plus in the country last November, Mandaue City had been gradually introducing cashless transactions, but there were only a few takers.
He said that with the official launch of the program, they hope it would attract more people to engage in cashless transactions.
Skeptics
Mercadal said some vendors were afraid to go digital, especially the elderly, because they had difficulty using smartphones. Others were worried about falling prey to online scams, he added.
Mayor Cortes, for his part, admitted that convincing skeptical members of the public to use digital wallets remains a challenge.
He said they continue to help them understand the new system and its contribution to the city’s economy.
“It’s normal. Anything new, there is always resistance. With the increasing technology, we have no choice but to adapt to change,” he said.
Cortes said their aim is for all market vendors and tricycle drivers in Mandaue to adopt the Paleng-QR by the end of the year.
DILG 7 Director Leocadio Trovela said they target to have all local government units (LGUs) in the region, particularly highly urbanized cities, adopt the Paleng-QR PH Plus as soon as possible.
Trovela lauded LGUs in Central Visayas for being open to the new system.
Paleng-QR PH Plus is a system designed to promote cashless payments as an alternative to paying cash in purchasing goods at public markets and in paying fares for public utility vehicles, with transactions typically done through the QR codes of the digital wallet app GCash.
Mandaue is the second LGU in Cebu to adopt the system, following Lapu-Lapu City, which launched Paleng-QR PH Plus last February.
The two LGUs join 15 other LGUs, including Baguio, Davao City, Tagbilaran, Pasig, Victorias City in Negros Occidental, and Tarlac, that have adopted the Paleng-QR PH Plus program.