Digital payments platform provider, PayMaya, ends  pandemic year 2020 with over 28 million customers  transacting in its over 200,000 touchpoints nationwide.

 However, in a country with a population of 107 million, it still has a long way to go.

 Nevertheless, “This radical shift to cashless for the Philippines will only continue accelerating in 2021," Shailesh Baidwan, PayMaya President predicted.

Consumers, businesses, communities, and government agencies now use the PayMaya app and wallet.

The platform also powers all kinds of enterprises for eCommerce and everyday transactions. 

Already, its Smart Padala Network has expanded to 33,000 agent touchpoints nationwide, enabling Filipinos  to conduct transactions, from remittances, bills payments, mobile prepaid loading to QR payments. 

In 2021, Paymaya plans to "offer more services and forge more enterprise partnerships that are relevant for many consumers”, Baidwan revealed.

More merchants and consumers turned to cashless payments in stores and online to protect themselves from the pandemic.

The average number of cash transactions by consumers declined from 48 per cent pre-COVID-19 to 37 per cent post-COVID-19, according to the latest e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

On the other hand, the frequency of e-Wallets transactions rose from an average of 18 per cent pre-COVID-19 to 25 per cent post-COVID-19.  

In fact, cashless transactions made by Filipinos through the PayMaya app registered triple-digit growth rates throughout 2020, peaking sometime around May at the height of the enhanced community quarantine to register over 1,000 per cent year-on-year growth versus the same period in 2019.  

The top use cases among PayMaya users in 2020 were sending money to friends and family, paying bills, and purchasing mobile prepaid load, all of which have formed part of their everyday financial transactions.  

"We have made it so easy for ordinary consumers to get a financial account and for merchants to accept a wide range of cashless payments, including PayMaya," the PayMaya President explained.

“No other fintech company has built this inclusive ecosystem of products, services, and touchpoints that reach majority of Filipinos nationwide," he noted.

These initiatives are also in line with the government's goal to increase the share of digital payments to 50 per cent of all retail transactions and expand financial inclusion to 70 percent of Filipino adults by 2023.

Significantly, the government  also tapped PayMaya to disburse P4.5 billion financial aid for its COVID-19 mitigating programs.

These measures include the Social Amelioration Program under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program of the Social Security System (SSS), as well as loan programs launched by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture.

At the start of the quarantine in March, the cities of Manila and Caloocan disbursed allowances and aid to constituents via Paymaya.

The cities of Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Las Pinas, and Pasig followed suit.

Using the Paymaya app, consumers and businesses likewise paid their fees and dues to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, SSS, PAG-IBIG Fund, Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of Foreign Affairs, Land Transportation Office, Professional Regulation Commission, Bureau of Customs, and Department of Trade and Industry.

To date, over 60 government units both in the national and local levels have partnered with PayMaya for cashless payments.

The volume  of government payment acceptance is projected to reach by 1,200 per cent growth by year-end versus 2019. 

On the other hand, the number of new merchants  using  PayMaya digital payment acceptance solutions increased by over 1,500 per cent year-on-year this November.