Over 2 million active users in the Philippines have spent a total of 75,305 hours, or an equivalent of 9 years, using digital lending applications in 2022, according to a new report published by consumer credit service Digido.
“Our recent analysis of select digital lending services is a clear indication that responsible credit services continue to be an effective means of breaching inequality in accessing financial tools. We encourage the wider segment to continue in promoting responsible lending,” said Digido country manager Farit Shakirov.
Analysis of 10 digital lending platforms operating in the Philippines with access to iOS App Store and/or Google Play, including Digido, reveal that these companies have a combined total of 14.2 million downloads as of December 2022, representing 3.4 percent of the total downloads from finance categories across all devices and all platforms.
This is +2.2 percent or 307,000 more downloads compared to November 2022 and more than 35.2 percent compared to December 2021 (+3.7 million).
About 2.3 million active users of at least one of those 10 platforms — those who have consistently logged into the application at least once over the past 6 months to December 2022 — represent approximately 3.2 percent of the Philippine adult population aged 18 and over, by 2022 United Nations estimates. In other words, one out of every 30 adult Filipinos access the services of the 10 digital lending platforms at least once a month.
Monthly duration of use session of these apps averaged at 12 minutes and 46 seconds while duration of 1 session per user was at 1 minute and 14 seconds.
Significant bursts of user login activity in 2022 occurred in March, July and November, mainly due to the positive dynamics of certain platforms working with small and medium-sized businesses. This accounted for approximately 36 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Possible reasons behind these surges include ongoing promotions, favorable conditions, or the launch of specialized loan products for entrepreneurs.
Digido observes that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are still heavily underfunded and limited in their ability to continuously grow and develop, which only increases the potential for the penetration of digital lending platforms.