Electronic wallets are now a multi- trillion peso business for players PayMaya and GCash, thanks to the pandemic which forced Filipinos to go cashless.

All of a sudden, in the last two years, digital payments and e-commerce boomed as previously unbanked Filipinos became e-wallet users for convenience and safety.

Not surprisingly, investors now view the Philippines as one of the fastest growing digital economies in the region.

In fact, digital transformation can create up to P5 trillion in annual economic value by 2030, according to a recently released Google Philippines - commissioned report.

Although cash still remains king in the Philippines and Asia Pacific (APAC), 58 percent of respondents in Kaspersky's latest study already use mobile payments and 52 percent are doing mobile banking applications at least once a week, up to more than once a day for finance-related tasks.

"The pandemic has triggered more people to dip their toes into the digital economy, which may fully dethrone cash use here in the next three to five years,” Chris Connell, Kaspersky's Managing Director for Asia Pacific, predicted.

Significantly, the Philippines logged the highest percent of new e-cash adopters at 37 percent, followed by India (23percent), Australia (15percent), Vietnam (14 percent), Indonesia (13 percent), and Thailand (13percent).

Accordingly, PayMaya's transaction volume more than doubled year-on-year by mid-2021 for e-commerce transactions processed through Pay with PayMaya.

At the same time, the number of unique small merchants using Paymaya's enterprise platforms grew over eleven fold.

PayMaya even fast-tracked its roll-out in cash-heavy sectors, from retail, quick-service restaurants, to pharmaceuticals though it is now used in other sectors, like transport, services and utilities, as well as schools and government.

Ultimately, it obtained a license to become a digital bank.

Voyager Innovations (Voyager), through its financial technology arm PayMaya Philippines (PayMaya), this year obtained the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approval to set up a digital bank called Maya Bank.

Maya Bank will focus on the unbanked and underserved population of consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

It also intends to promote digital financial services among the youth, women, senior citizens, and other underbanked segments.

"Maya Bank will be a key vehicle in hastening digital adoption among Filipinos through inclusive financial services,” pledged Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT, Voyager and PayMaya.

"Our digital bank license underpins the unique value of our end-to-end financial services ecosystem as it unlocks opportunities beyond payments," added Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO-Founder.

Both PayMaya and Maya Bank will spearhead Voyager’s digital financial services thrust, supporting the BSP’s goals of digitizing 50 percent of the total volume of retail payments and expanding the financially included to 70 percent of Filipino adults by 2023.

Specifically, Maya Bank will provide mobile-first digital banking services on the back of PayMaya's e-wallet and proven technology platforms.

It will maximize PayMaya's extensive Smart Padala agent network and leading merchant payments processing business to serve more customers and grow the digital financial ecosystem.

PayMaya launched the first open-loop digital payments app in the Philippines in 2015, changing the game by enabling users to get a basic e-wallet account with a virtual Visa or Mastercard via their mobile phones in a matter of minutes.

To reach non-digital users, PayMaya has transformed its Smart Padala agent network of 55,000 touchpoints as last-mile finance hubs in grassroots communities, a significant boost for a country with only over 28,000 bank branches as of August 2021.

Smart Padala is now present in over 92 percent of all cities and municipalities in the country, serving as cash-in, cash-out, bills payment, and remittance centers to the unbanked and underserved.

PayMaya's total registered users grew by more than 2.5X since the start of 2020 to 40 million as of end-August 2021.

Today, one in two Filipino adults have used the PayMaya wallet or transacted through its Smart Padala touchpoints.

On the other hand, competitor GCash's merchants and social sellers base soared to over three million.

Already, GCash is on track to hit P3 trillion in full-year gross transaction value, tripling its 2020 performance, as more Filipinos shift purchases online due to the pandemic

Todate, it has hauled in over 51 million registered users, three million digital touchpoints, 69,000 cash-in and cash-out agents, and 700 billers.

To make the e-wallet more accessible, GCash recently partnered with sari-sari stores, transforming micro-businesses into hubs for GCash remittance and other services.

This November, digital financial solutions provider Mynt, the company behind GCash payment services app, raised over $300 million in funding and is now valued at over $2 billion.

Nearly half of the national population, over 48 million users, have turned to Mynt as the “go-to” payment and financial services solution since the onset of the pandemic.

The company has also recorded peak daily app log-ins of 19 million and daily active transactions of 12 million.

"We have been able to continuously expand by introducing game-changing innovations while improving our profitability profile,” says Martha Sazon, President and CEO of Mynt.

GCash's vision is towards "finance for all,” she underscored.

Overall, GCash expects to exceed its 2021 growth targets on its full array of financial services, from credit, savings, insurance, loans to investments, according to Sazon.

Currently, GCash is doubling down on lending as Filipinos move towards digital finance.

Its Assets Under Management (AUM) for its GSave product has doubled to over P9 Billion in the first six months of 2021, from P5 billion last year.

its GInvest product, just launched last year with 4 new fund categories, captured 70 percent of the domestic market of total Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITF) accounts within 6 months.

GInsure, GCash’s microinsurance offering launched in-app in 2020, now accounts for a third of all new insurance policies issued in the Philippines.

The company’s in-house lending service, GCredit, disburses P1 billion worth of loans a month, on average.

As of June 2021, it has disbursed P15 Billion loans, registering the best repayment rates, with the lowest past due and non-performing loans locally.

Partnering with neobank CIMB Bank, GCredit works like a pre-approved credit card to make QR and online purchases, as well as bills payment, without traditional documentation requirements.

It also extends 30-day credits to GCash users.

In addition, GCash is piloting GLoan, a new service that allows qualified users to borrow P25,000, with repayment spread over 12 months.

The service is doing well and has shown the fastest growing revenue for its category.

GCash plans to launch a “Buy Now, Pay Later” service this year to address users' financial challenges during the pandemic and beyond.

“We have enjoyed massive growth in our financial services through innovative fintech solutions and strategic partnerships, regardless of licenses," according to Sazon.

"We also have the edge on experience and technology as we’ve been promoting financial services since we started. We have a very positive growth outlook in the years to come,” she concluded.