It's the
same convenience of a beep card but with the benefits of online commerce plus
more. This a 3-in-1 Visa card that you can use with one tap pay with MRT / LRT.
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| PayMaya Visa Card with Beep, just tap it on contactless terminals |
Smart eMoney, Inc., the digital financial innovations unit of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), introduced to the commuting public today PayMaya Visa Card with beep, the first live beep card in the market that combines the best of online transactions with a physical payments card.
Filipinos
commuting via the LRT and MRT can now avail of the PayMaya beep card in PayMaya
activation booths and Smart Padala centers in and around selected train
stations in Metro Manila.
By using the
PayMaya Visa card with beep, customers can easily purchase train fare just like
a regular beep stored value card and tap it on contactless terminals. The
PayMaya Visa card with beep can be used to swipe for purchases in physical
stores and for online shopping, even without a regular credit card.
"As our
group leads in building the physical infrastructure of a modern Philippines, we
are also at the forefront in deploying digital and citizen-friendly services.
We look forward to bringing even more innovations to the Filipino consumer in
the near future," said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT and Smart.
As a special
limited offer until the end of the year, commuters can avail of the PayMaya
Visa Card with beep for free plus a bonus PhP30 beep stored value just by loading
their PayMaya account with PhP100 in PayMaya activation booths in selected MRT
and LRT stations.
"This
is another breakthrough in Smart Money's storied journey since the introduction
of its pioneering mobile money Smart Money platform more than fourteen years
ago, " said Orlando B. Vea, President of Smart e-Money.
Introduced
last August, PayMaya also comes with a mobile app that can instantly provide a
virtual Visa card that can be used for online payments, anytime, anywhere -
regardless of your mobile operator and even if you do not have a bank account.
It also
comes with a physical Visa card that can be used for purchases at any of the
over 30 million establishments worldwide accepting Visa.
The PayMaya
Visa card with beep is a physical Visa card with a built-in beep wallet. This
three-in-one combination enables the public to enjoy the same benefits of the
regular contactless beep card deployed under the Automated Fare Collection
System (AFCS) for the country's light railway transport system plus the
convenience of getting an instant virtual Visa card for online shopping via the
PayMaya mobile app and a physical card for transactions in any Visa merchant.
"PayMaya
Visa card with beep is similar to the Hong Kong subway and payments Octopus card
plus more. Through this and the PayMaya app, the Filipino consumer will
leapfrog into the digital life through an easy to use, versatile and fun
solution," said Benjie S. Fernandez, managing director and co-COO at Smart
eMoney.
PayMaya is
strengthening partnerships with eCommerce sites like Zalora, AirBNB and
Philippine Airlines as well as face-to-face shopping with establishments like
SM and Robinsons Malls.
To avail and
fully enjoy the benefits of the three-in-one card, customers just have to
download the PayMaya mobile app and go to the activation centers to get the
PayMaya Visa card with beep.
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| Smart eMoney's PayMaya Visa Card |
Users of the
PayMaya mobile app can also buy discounted prepaid Smart and TNT load.
For upgraded
PayMaya accounts, they can also use their PayMaya Visa card with beep to
withdraw cash from the PayMaya wallet from any ATM, as well as easily send
money to other PayMaya users with upgraded accounts.
Smart eMoney
is broadening the availability of PayMaya load centers to include not only
presence in train stations but also to establishments such as 7-11 stores,
Robinson's business centers, SM business centers, MiniStop stores, Smart Jump
centers and Smart Padala outlets nationwide, among others.
Smart eMoney
launched the PayMaya app and stand-alone card last August. It is the most
recent innovation to come out of its pipeline as the company broadens the
product offerings under its platforms from mobile money based services such as
Smart Money and Smart Padala to digital with PayMaya. Behind the PayMaya card
and app is the internationally acclaimed Smart Money platform, which currently
supports mobile money services in emerging growth
markets such as Brazil, Egypt, and Indonesia.
The PayMaya
mobile app is the product of the partnership of PLDT through Smart eMoney with
Rocket Internet, the global technology eCommerce leader that has presence in
110 countries including the Philippines in various regions such as Southeast
Asia, Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Europe among others.
"Rocket
Internet is proud to be the PLDT group's joint venture partner for PayMaya with
Smart eMoney. We are set to deploy PayMaya as a world-class solution in other
emerging markets," said Paolo Azzola, Co-COO at Smart eMoney and Managing
Director at Rocket Internet.
Smart
eMoney, together with Voyager Innovations, the digital innovations arm of PLDT
and Smart, has been introducing several innovative services and partnerships in
the areas of payments and eCommerce. Smart eMoney and Voyager Innovations are
the key vehicles in the PLDT group's global innovations thrusts. While
supporting the group's digital transformation, the two companies are exporting,
among others, financial technology, digital commerce and communications
innovations mostly to emerging markets.
In a recent
report from BMI Research, the think-tank arm of the Fitch group, it cited that
"the product offering of Smart Money will be
strengthened through such partnerships, and give Smart an edge over rival
operator Globe's GCash service."
Smart
eMoney is the first non-financial institution in Asia to be granted by Visa
with an issuing and acquiring license. It also counts MasterCard as its partner
giving it the unique opportunity to offer both Visa and MasterCard products.
