Smart Padala helps bolster PH economy as leader in mobile remittance industry; Launch of its new campaign with its new brand ambassador Angel Locsin

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PayMaya Philippines (formerly Smart eMoney, Inc.) continues to lead the mobile remittance industry with its Smart Padala service on the back of a new consumer brand campaign coupled with strong remittance volumes here and abroad, further bolstering the Philippine economy as investor and consumer confidence likewise continues to expand.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), in particular, reached $25.8 billion in 2015 and accounted for 9.8% of the country’s economic output last year. But with the brisk growth in mobile-based remittance led by PayMaya Philippines’ Smart Padala remittance service, further expansion is to be expected.

The company expects an overall transaction throughput volume of P200-billion by end-2016. PayMaya Philippines will source the throughput volumes from its PayMaya digital payments wallet app, PayMaya Business and trade payment solutions, Smart Padala mobile money transfer and remittance service.

Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations.

“Opportunities in this industry remain huge as there is a still vast need to service the gaps for the unbanked and uncarded Filipinos. We are sustaining Smart Padala’s momentum as the leading mobile remittance service in the country through our new brand campaign, more pervasive on-ground presence with our flagship stores, enhanced services, more partnerships and inclusive innovations. Through these efforts, we hope to drive financial inclusion as we also grow our business,” said Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations.

According to a recent mobile money report by the GSMA, mobile money has immense potential to change lives and livelihoods around the world because of its security, convenience, and instantaneous nature. It is also available in majority of economies with fewer than 20% of the population having access to formal financial institutions, such as the Philippines.

Digital and mobile money services are therefore seen as critical elements in bridging economic growth through financial inclusion. Based on data from the 1st National Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last year, 7 out of 10 Filipinos are still unbanked.

It also takes Filipinos an average of 22 minutes to reach the nearest financial services provider. In terms of cost, the average round trip fare to reach a financial access point is P43. Meanwhile, for a country with a 119 million population, mobile phone penetration is at 117%, underscoring the huge role of mobile in enabling financial access.

Angel Locsin,  Smart Padala brand ambassador

Vea reaffirmed this positive outlook during the unveiling today of the new Smart Padala logo and the launch of its new campaign with celebrity Angel Locsin as its brand ambassador. The campaign aims to reinforce the unique selling proposition of Smart Padala as the most accessible, convenient, innovative and relevant mobile money remittance service in the Philippines.

Mobile money as driver for progress

With the most number of touchpoints at 15,000 Padala partner centers and growing, Smart Padala has started rolling out its rebranded flagship stores across the country. Aside from stronger presence and merchandising with the new logo, the flagship stores also offer enhanced services including international remittance, bills payment and as fulfillment center for other upcoming financial technology services.

Smart Padala has also been deploying consumer-oriented promotions such as its Padalang Padalow for lower customer service fees and incentives to Padala partners.

Benjie Fernandez, co-COO of PayMaya Philippines and COO of Voyager Innovations

“Underlying this campaign is our commitment to provide financially inclusive services, a mission that remains unchanged since we launched the brand ten years ago. What has further grown is the increasing use case of mobile as a tool for socio-economic progress. From just being a tool for communications, the use of mobile for financial services is helping individuals, families, businesses and communities," said Benjie Fernandez, co-COO of PayMaya Philippines and COO of Voyager Innovations.

Financial inclusion through innovation

“PayMaya Philippines continues to take an active role in accelerating financial inclusion in the Philippines through inclusive innovations. We have transitioned from a SIM-based, telco-based platform to an app-enabled, over-the-top digital platform to serve more users, with an eye not just in the Philippine market but beyond,” said Paolo Azzola, Managing Director and co-COO of PayMaya Philippines.

To make mobile money more inclusive, PayMaya Philippines introduced the Smart Padala Pick-Up Anywhere enhanced service in December last year, allowing customers to send money to anyone, regardless of mobile network, and to be redeemed at any Smart Padala center nationwide.

PayMaya Philippines, part of the Voyager Group, is the digital financial services unit of PLDT and Smart Communications (Smart). Its services are regulated by the BSP to ensure all user transactions are secure. Aside from being the first non-financial institution in Asia to be granted an issuing and acquiring license by Visa, PayMaya Philippines also counts MasterCard as its partner. 

To know more about Smart Padala, visit www.smartpadala.ph or like their official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SmartPadalaPH.

Nothing can stop the spirit of giving this Christmas with Smart Padala PickUp Anywhere

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"Padalapit" love this holiday

Nothing can stop the spirit of giving this Christmas with Smart Padala PickUp Anywhere

When Filipinos talk about Christmas, they immediately think about their families and how much they want to show their love to them during this occasion. This is the enduring sentiment especially for many Filipino households whose breadwinner is working in another city or country just to support the family.

No matter where they are, what they do or from whatever walks of life they come from, Filipinos will always go out of their way to show love come Christmas time.

Now with the enhanced Smart Padala service called PickUp Anywhere, Filipinos will find it easier and more convenient to send their love and continued support to their families.

Lawrence Ferrer

Smart Padala PickUp Anywhere allows the easiest, safest, and most convenient way to send and receive money to and within the Philippines, regardless of their mobile network. It is secure, safe, and guaranteed to be claimed only by the nominated mobile number.

According to Lawrence Ferrer, VicePresident of Smart eMoney, Smart Padala PickUp Anywhere makes it more convenient for customers to send remittances during the holiday rush.

“With PickUp Anywhere, both the money sender and the beneficiary don’t have to commute to a far location, brave the traffic, and line up at specific centers just to send or receive money. They have thousands of Smart Padala Centers nationwide to do the transaction,” he said.

Another great thing about this service is that people can send money to their beneficiaries regardless of mobile network. One can effectively send money via Smart Padala PickUp Anywhere to anyone with a mobile number in the Philippines.

“We want everyone, not just Smart subscribers, to enjoy the benefits and security features of this groundbreaking financial service enhancement,” said Ethel Ines, Brand Manager of Smart Padala. “Filipinos can conveniently send their Padala in time for the Christmas season,” she added.

Filipinos primarily send money to their families for basic needs. According to the National Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year, 44% of Filipino adults had remittance transactions in the past six months and for those on the sending side, 91% sent to their families while 6% sent to their friends. On the other hand, for those who received remittances, 90% received from their families while 7% received from friends. Top line items for purposes of remittances receive is for food (71%), education (39%), medical expenses (28%) and emergencies (22%).

The same survey said that it takes Filipinos an average of 22 minutes to reach the nearest financial services provider. In terms of cost, the average roundtrip fare to reach a financial access point is PhP 43.

"By enhancing our Smart Padala service with PickUp Anywhere, we are enabling millions of more Filipinos to experience the benefits of financial technology when they need it the most, wherever they maybe,” Ferrer added.

Smart eMoney, Inc. is the digital financial services unit of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). A global pioneer in mobile banking, mobile money and mobile wallet services with over 15 years in the industry, Smart eMoney's proprietary innovations span products and services across market segments, catering to the financial transaction requirements of the banked and unbanked. It recently launched PayMaya, a digital payments innovation for online transactions.

Takatack and Smart eMoney celebrates Day of the Seafarer with access to cashless and convenient online shopping

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Pinoy seafarers will now be able to conveniently select, buy, and pay for gifts and have them delivered directly to their families in the Philippines through a partnership forged by Dohle Seafront Crewing (Manila), Inc. with shopping discovery platform, Takatack.

Developed by Voyager Innovations, the digital arm of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), Takatack will provide Dohle’s seafarers with a special page that gives them access to a wide selection of gifts and products for their families as part of the Day of the Seafarer celebrations on June 25.

Spearheaded by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Day of the Seafarer is of special importance to the Philippines given the more than 400,000 Filipino best-in-class seafarers it has produced and deployed around the world, including those provided by Dohle Seafront. 

Through this initiative with Takatack, Dohle Seafront aims provide more opportunities to their seafarers to connect to their families.

Mitch Padua, the vice president and head of product development for ecommerce at Voyager Innovations, believes that ecommerce can change the lives of our seafarers.

“Seafarers exist somewhere in between workers at home and OFWs. Sometimes, they’re docked at our ports; other times, they’re stopped over in other countries; but most of the time, they’re on the open seas. Just imagine how hard it is for them to buy gifts for their loved ones during special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. Our Takatack page for seafarers will allow them to send their love no matter where they are,” he said. 

Dohle seafarers can order from this page whenever they are docked at port. Padua thinks that their shopping portal on Takatack will be their preferred ecommerce destination because of the variety of choices it gives them.

“Takatack is an online discovery platform, which carries many different marketplaces and brands. As such, we have more products than any other online store in the Philippines with more than 100,000. For seafarers, this means they only need to make a single stop for all their gifting needs, and they don’t have to waste time hopping from site to site,” he said.

Atty. Iris V. Baguilat, President of Döhle Seafront believes that the partnership will help connect seafarers and their families. 

“This service and all the discounts are exclusive to Döhle Seafront seafarers who can now send gifts to their loved ones back home even if they are on board,” Baguilat said. 

When placing orders on Takatack, seafarers can pay using Smart Money, which is much more convenient and safer than other traditional payment options. 

“Since credit card penetration in the Philippines is low, the vast majority of ecommerce stores have to adopt localized solutions, such as cash on delivery. By offering seafarers a Smart eMoney card, we keep each of their transactions as frictionless as possible, ensuring that they get all the efficiency that e-commerce promises,” said Lawrence Ferrer, Vice President of Smart E-Money, Inc. (SMI).