Transactions via e-wallets in sari-sari stores jumped by 75 percent, proving that even microenterprises are now embracing digitization, a recent study by Filipino tech startup Packworks said.

The Packworks report used its internal transaction records as the starting point to conduct a direct survey of more than 2,000 sari-sari store owners within Packworks' nationwide network of over 300,000 stores from January to August 2025.

The report said half of the store owners surveyed reported a 75 percent increase in e-wallet usage in their store operations between January and August.

The remaining respondents also saw substantial growth: 20 percent experienced a 100 percent increase in usage, another 20 percent saw a 50 percent increase, and 10 percent reported a 10 percent rise.

Further, the report stated that store owners largely attribute the growing adoption to increased consumer demand, as their customers are also turning to e-wallets to buy goods, access funds, and settle bills at their local stores.

“A lot of our customers are making cash-in and cash-out transactions aside from buying products with e-wallets. Since more customers are using them, we want to keep up with their needs. It also helps us earn a little extra,” said Marijane Rea, a sari-sari store owner from Laguna.

Store owners are using e-wallets for a variety of business operations. About 40 percent use the platforms for in-store payments, 30 percent for bill payments, and the remaining 30 percent for cash-in and cash-out transactions.

The digital shift is quickly becoming a critical source of revenue, with around 13 percent of store owners saying their e-wallet earnings equal their revenue from physical goods.

Among the rest of the respondents, e-wallets still contribute significantly: 66 percent said about 20 percent of their revenues come from e-wallet use, while 21 percent said their e-wallet earnings account for 10 percent of total revenue.

GCash and Maya are the most widely used e-wallets, with 85 percent of store owners reporting they use GCash for business transactions and 15 percent using Maya.

“Besides the income we earn from the store, we also get extra earnings from using e-wallets because we earn a profit of PHP 10 to PHP 20 from cash-in and cash-out transactions, or whenever customers pay for electricity, water, or internet bills,” said Rachel Miguel, a store owner from Bacolod.

To increase their transaction capacity and meet surging customer demand, sari-sari stores are strategically using up to five e-wallet accounts.

According to the report, with each account having a monthly limit of P100,000 to P500,000, the combined monthly transaction capacity can reach up to P3.5 million.

This trend supports 30 percent of store owners’ interest in upgrading their e-wallets to business accounts to maintain a higher monthly limit of P1 million.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas indicated that approximately 57 percent of total retail transactions were cashless in 2024, highlighting the increasing use of digital payments for everyday purchases and financial transactions.

“The surge in e-wallet use proves that sari-sari stores are rapidly evolving into vital digital hubs for their communities. Aside from simply selling ‘tingi’ physical items, they are now diversifying their product range, offering high-margin, value-added financial services and integrating digital tools such as our app to fundamentally improve their operations and function as near-frictionless nano-banks for the neighborhoods they serve. These findings show that sari-sari stores have been at the forefront of this digital transformation at the grassroots level,” said Packworks Chief Platform Officer Hubert Yap.