A COMPANY that provides end-to-end commerce solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) revealed that digitalization of SMEs in the Philippines continues to be a challenge due to high transaction fees and tedious payment account setup processes.
The Philippine government has also recognized the need to support SMEs as the digital economy contributed 9.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounting to P3 trillion in 2022. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) targets digitizing at least 50 percent of all retail payments to empower small businesses to catalyze economic growth and close the digital divide in the Philippines.
Recognizing that digital payment acceptance remains low among SMEs, super app Enstack initiates
different approaches to facilitate progress. One is to remove payment barriers. At present, transaction fees, currently averaging at 3 percent for Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments, are driving up operational costs and pushing small businesses towards less scalable Person-to-Person (P2P) payment methods. Enstack alleviates this financial strain by offering lower transaction fees to enable SMEs to expand their customer reach and optimize their revenue.
Next is to simplify the payment account setup. According to the World Bank, it requires an average of 33 days to set up a business in the Philippines compared to its Southeast Asia neighbors, which range from 1.5 days (Singapore) to 16 days (Vietnam). To help SMEs, Enstack only requires an ID and Proof of Billing to start accepting debit and card payments. Online bank transfers and wallet payments can be facilitated with an ID from the merchant.
Enstack also suggested to optimize end-to-end digital payment tools. It said that manual manual processes can result in inventory and payment management inaccuracies. Enstack provides a seamless checkout process by automatically tagging payments to their respective orders for streamlined tracking and management.
“Our mission goes beyond overcoming digitalization roadblocks; we are dedicated to leading Filipinos into a thriving e-commerce ecosystem while helping SMEs turn their business dreams into reality. We share the government’s vision to provide every Filipino business, regardless of size or industry, access to the tools and resources they need to succeed in the digital landscape. By providing practical solutions tailored to the unique challenges faced by SMEs, we aim to empower them to embrace the benefits of online commerce and maximize their growth potential,” said Macy Castillo, CEO and co-founder at Enstack told FrontpagePH.com.
In line with this mission, Enstack is staging its Build-a-Biz competition. Designed to accelerate the adoption of digital sales strategies among SMEs, the competition offers a cash prize of P1 million to
the SME with the highest grossing sales completed through the Enstack app by the end of the year.
For more information, go to www.enstack.com/bab.