Likewise, coin demand in 2020 fell by 57 percent in volume and 60 percent in value compared to 2019. More accessible and more convenient e-payment options may have partly contributed to the decline, aside from softer economic activities during the said period. The expanded role of digital payments in 2020 is worthy of note.
While it kept the economic gears running during the community quarantines, it was also instrumental in distributing welfare benefits from the Social Security System’s Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program. Under the SBW S program, the SSS, the Department of Finance, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue worked, hand in hand, to provide a wage subsidy for affected employees of small businesses.