Ongoing shifts toward e-commerce, digital payments (including contactless), and instant payments have all been significantly boosted during the pandemic with real-time payments surging by 104 percent.

Loan restructuring applications peaked in April-May with the second wave of COVID-19, reaching about 20,000 applications per week, and are now down to about 2,000 per week.

The fourth and final SME Finance Loans for Growth (LFG) impact report shows how SMEs in emerging and frontier markets benefit from access to finance, as well as how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The value of transactions using the QR (quick response) technology via the national QR code standard reached almost P1 billion as of end-May, as more Filipinos embrace digital channels amid the pandemic.

The $177.5 million social bond will bundle loans to innovative companies in capital-scarce regions which operate in the financial inclusion, healthcare and WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) sectors, and that have a measurable, positive social impact.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended a $50 million line of credit to Bank of Palestine to support the resilience of the Palestinian private sector through on-lending to local SMEs, as part of Team Europe’s overall response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The financing is part of a program that supports policy measures to enable the rollout of the country’s social protection program, including the creation of digital IDs and cashless payments as part of cash transfer programs.