A January 2023 analysis by digital financing company Digido found increased growth in the adoption of digital lending applications on Android and iOS in the Philippines in 2022, as well as increased time spent on these applications.

The analysis took into account 10 specific digital lending platforms with mobile apps on Android and/or iOS.

• Casha
• Digido
• pera247
• Upeso
• Vidalia
• UnaCash
• Cashalo
• GoodKredit
• Pesoloan
• Plentina

According to Digido, the 10 apps saw “a combined total of 14.2 million downloads as of the end of December 2022, representing 3.4% of the total downloads from their respective Finance category across all devices and all platforms.”

When compared to December 2021 figures, an additional 3.7 million people downloaded online lending apps in the country.

Active users, time spent on apps

Digido noted there were 2.3 million active users among those 10 platforms by the end of December 2022, representing an increase of 1.2 million when compared to November 2021 figures. The estimate points to 3.2% (or about every 30th adult Filipino) using one of the platforms at least once monthly.

While Cashalo is said to have the largest market share among the 10 applications, GoodKredit (+703%), Digido (+177%), and Plentina (+115%) grew the most in terms of newcomers being onboarded onto their mobile applications.

Digido saw the longest average duration of time spent on its app, at about 28 minutes per month. The average monthly duration of usage session of these apps was at 12 minutes and 46 seconds with users spending about one minute and 14 seconds in a single session. That said, active Philippine users were on digital lending apps for a total of about 75,305 hours in 2022.

The analysis also noted what it called “significant bursts of user login activity” in March, July, and November of 2022, with Digido noting these would be mainly due to the lending platforms working with small and medium-sized businesses. It added the surges in activity could have also been caused by promotions, favorable conditions, or the launch of specialized loan products for entrepreneurs.

“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 in a press statement.

Digido added in its analysis that micro, small, and medium enterprises were still underfunded and thus limited in their ability to further grow. This, the company said, “increases the potential for the penetration of digital lending platforms.” – Rappler.com