Digido observed significant bursts of user login activity in March, July and November of the past year
Over two million active users in the Philippines spent a total of 75,305 hours — equivalent to nine years in using digital lending applications, according to 2022 new report from consumer credit service Digido.
Analysis of ten digital lending platforms operating in the Philippines that have applications inside the 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% of the total downloads from Finance categories across all devices and all platforms.
This is +2.2% compared to November 2022 (+307 thousand) and +35.2% compared to December 2021 (+3.7 million).
2.3 million active users of at least one of those ten platforms — those who have consistently logged into the application at least once over the past 6 months to December 2022 — is approximately 3.2% of the Philippine adult population aged 18 and over by 2022 United Nations estimates. In other words, one of every 30 adult Filipinos access the services of the ten digital lending platforms at least once a month.
“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,” Digido country manager Farit Shakirov said.
Average monthly duration of use session of these apps ended at 12 minutes and 46 seconds whilst duration of one session per user was at one 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, which account for approximately 36% of the country’s GDP. Possible reasons behind these surges include ongoing promotions, favorable conditions, or the launch of specialized loan products for entrepreneurs.
Digido observes that 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.