QRPh is getting replaced. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) today unveiled “ONE,” a unified payment experience that introduces four new digital payment tools and effectively phases out the QRPh brand in favor of a clearer two-QR system.
What is ONE?
Unveiled at the BSP Assembly Hall on July 29, 2026, the ONE Payment Experience is a joint effort between the BSP’s Payments Policy and Development Department (PPDD) and the Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI). Rather than a single product, ONE is an umbrella for four distinct payment innovations designed to address gaps in the Philippines’ digital payments ecosystem.
The four innovations under ONE
Direct Debit PH. A recurring direct debit scheme that lets consumers authorize automatic withdrawals for subscriptions, loans, and regular bills, finally bringing bank-grade auto-debit to the national payment system.
Request-to-Pay (InstaPay Cash-In). A feature that lets users send a payment request to another person or business through InstaPay, making it easier to collect payments without sharing account details. Think of it as the ability to “pull” funds instead of waiting for someone to “push” them.
InstaPay for Business. An expansion of the InstaPay real-time payment system tailored for business-to-business transactions, giving enterprises the same instant settlement that consumers already enjoy with regular InstaPay transfers.
QR Ph and InstaPay QR (market differentiation). The most significant structural change. QRPh as a single brand is being replaced by two distinct QR payment products. QR Ph will likely serve consumer and person-to-person QR payments, while InstaPay QR targets merchant and business transactions. The split gives each QR standard a clearer identity and use case, ending the confusion around what “QR Ph” actually covers.
Why this matters
The Philippines has been on a digital payments push under BSP’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, targeting 50% of retail transactions to be digital. QRPh launched in 2019 as the national QR standard but struggled with adoption fragmentation, competing QR codes from different payment apps, and merchant confusion over which QR to accept. The ONE initiative directly addresses these pain points by giving each payment method a distinct purpose and brand.
Direct Debit PH fills a gap that has kept many Filipinos tied to paper-based auto-debit arrangements. Request-to-Pay modernizes the “send me your account number so I can transfer” workflow that still dominates informal transactions. And the QR Ph versus InstaPay QR split means merchants and consumers will finally know exactly which QR code to use for what.
What happens to QRPh?
The invitation from BSP describes a “market differentiation of QR Ph and InstaPay QR,” signaling that the familiar QRPh brand is being restructured into two separate but related standards. Existing QRPh-compliant apps and terminals are expected to transition to the new naming and structure, though BSP has not yet announced a sunset timeline for the old QRPh brand.
The ONE Payment Experience event, held this morning at the BSP headquarters along Roxas Boulevard, was attended by representatives from the banking sector, fintech companies, and members of the media.
