The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas engaged PayMaya Philippines and other eMoney issuers to equip merchants selling within its headquarters in Manila with digital payment touch points.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas led by Deputy Governor for Resource Management Sector Cyd Tuaño-Amador (third from left) help officially introduce digital payments through PayMaya QR in its headquarters in Manila in partnership with the BSP Employees Consumers Cooperative. Tuaño-Amador was joined by other BSP officials such as Eduardo Bobier, BSP Managing Director for Comptrollership Sub-Sector (leftmost), Gerardo Butardo, BSP Managing Director for Human Resource Sub-Sector (third from right), and Maria Teresa Payuan, Acting Manager of the Human Resource Management Division. PayMaya executives Raymund Villanueva, Head of Consumer Business (second from left), and Kenneth Palacios, Head of International Business (rightmost) also joined them as they try out the Piso Ice Cream via PayMaya QR.
The initiative led by the banking regulator in cooperation with PayMaya–the digital financial services arm of PLDT and Smart’s Voyager Innovations– was announced during the BSP Cooperative General Assembly and Election of Officers at the BSP Manila compound last April 6, 2018.
Now, the central bank’s more than 3,000 employees in its headquarters in Manila will experience the convenience and value of going digital when paying with their mobile phones through PayMaya QR or using the PayMaya card.
BSP employees no longer have to carry cash when paying in the BSP Employee Cooperative Store and the BSP canteen. All they need is their smartphone to scan the QR code displayed at cashier counters with their PayMaya app or pay by dipping or swiping their PayMaya card at the installed POS terminals.
BSP employees can also use their PayMaya account to shop online or in any Visa-affiliated merchants worldwide. They will also get to enjoy the speed and convenience of using the scan-to-pay technology with PayMaya’s partner merchants nationwide.
For BSP merchants, on the other hand, accepting payments via PayMaya QR or card will mean shorter lines as they no longer need to count bills or coins for change in every transaction.
Ultimately, having payment technologies such as PayMaya QR available in the central bank headquarters is a signal that the BSP is serious with its goal to have a cash-lite economy fueled by different cashless payment options within its own compound.
The BSP aims to increase cashless transactions/ payments in the country from 1% at present to 20% by 2020. In support of this vision, PayMaya Philippines, together with FINTQ, the financial technology arm of Voyager Innovations, supports this goal as it targets to enable 30 million Filipinos with digital financial services by 2020.
