Pandemic Accelerated Adoption of Digital Services

It was interesting to read the findings of the 2021 Consumer Finance Survey (CFS) conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from March 31, 2022, to Dec. 11, 2022, which were released last Friday, March 14.

- MARIANNE GO

The survey results gave a glimpse into how Filipino households managed their finances during the pandemic years and the resulting adoption of digital services.

According to the BSP, non-financial assets continued to form the foundation of Filipino household wealth portfolios. Home appliances and equipment remained the most commonly owned assets (96.6 percent), followed by residential properties (69.9 percent) and vehicles (35.3 percent).

Among vehicles, motorcycles (61.7 percent) continued to be the most commonly owned, which I believe also contributed to the shift to a digital economy through the delivery of goods purchased online but also contributed to traffic congestion.

A notable shift occurred in home-ownership trends, with more families choosing rental accommodations (11.3 percent) compared to the previous survey round (10.2 percent).

Within the appliance category, mobile phones (92.8 percent) continued to surpass televisions (81.1 percent) as the most common household item since the 2018 survey, highlighting the increasing importance of digital connectivity, especially during times of crisis. This finding is also significant to the decline of cable television as more people depend on their phones to get the news or watch online movies and content.

The composition of financial assets revealed interesting patterns of financial behavior. Deposit accounts recorded the highest ownership rates at 35.3 percent, followed by traditional cash savings kept at home (28.7 percent) and the rapidly growing category of e-money accounts (24.3 percent). After the pandemic, more people now have e-wallets for everyday small purchases or payments.