Withdrawing Cash Now Possible at 1,000 7-Eleven Stores

Tweet

PSC in partnership with Seven Bank Ltd. of Japan, installs additional ATMs at 7-Eleven stores in NCR and major areas in Southern Luzon, making convenient cash transactions possible for more customers.

Withdrawing cash is now more convenient than ever as 7-Eleven has expanded its ATM network to a total of 1,000 stores in Metro Manila, Cavite, and Laguna. The presence of these additional ATMs allows more people to access their cash safely, conveniently, 24/7. Customers need not line up at the overcrowded bank and mall ATMs, especially with the release of 13th-month pay and year-end bonuses this holiday season.

“Installing ATMs in more stores is one of the key pillars of our Convenience Plus strategy. Convenience Plus has been our approach to meeting more customer needs since the start of this pandemic. Our stores now offer not only a wider assortment of merchandise, but we are also leveraging our store network to offer bills payments, e-wallet cash-ins, and other financial services to serve our communities better,” said Mr. Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO, Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC).

By the end of this year, PSC, in partnership with Pito AxM Platform, Inc. (PAPI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seven Bank Ltd. of Japan, shall have its ATMs activated in 1,200 7-Eleven stores in NCR and major markets in Luzon. By the end of 2022, the cash-recycler ATMs will be available in the cities of Cebu, CDO and Davao allowing the alliance of the two companies to increase its presence in the underserved segments of the market.

“The ATMs provide an innovative solution to the cash management requirements of our 7-Eleven stores. The sales are deposited by our store operators and the ATMs “recycle” the cash to fund withdrawals of the customers of the different banks. This also creates a lot of value to the individual bank account owners because of the convenience of having ATMs available 24/7 in a safe and secured location,” said Mr. Lawrence De Leon, PSC Head of Finance.

Mr. Tsuneo Nagashima, Chairman of PAPI stated “We are very grateful to PSC and our many other partners for their support in reaching this milestone of 1,000 ATMs installed. Yet this is just the beginning. We look forward to delivering the safety and convenience of our ATM service in many more 7-Eleven stores as we grow the install base.”

(Left to right:) Raffy La’O - Corporate Secretary and Governance Group Head, PAPI ; Fiel Turla - Terminal Deployment Unit Head, PAPI ; Grace Seludo - ATM Operations Group Head, PAPI ; Bel Bele - Internal Processing Group Head, PAPI ; Jose V. Paterno - President and CEO, PSC ; Richard Lee - Chief Operating Officer, PSC; Jackie Lai - Marketing Director, PSC ; (back) Leo Liu - Treasurer and CFO, PSC; (front) Liwayway Fernandez - Operations Director, PSC; (front) Atty. Evelyn Sadsad-Enriquez - Corporate Secretary;  (back) Vince Dela Cruz - Marketing Communications Division Head, PSC ;(back) Francis Medina - Special Projects Head, PSC ; Lawrence De Leon - Finance and Accounting Services Division Head, PSC ; Robert Tseng - Corporate Planning Head

Mr. Masanori Sakaguchi, President of PAPI mentioned “The more we install ATMs, the higher the expectations of our customers grow. We are committed to working hard every single day together with our partners including PSC to continuously improve our ATM services for better customer experiences. Together we can.”

For more information on where to find the ATMs, please visit https://www.7-eleven.com.ph/whatsnew/atms-in-7eleven-list-of-stores/.

Share in the Spirit of Giving with ShopeePay this Holiday Season

Tweet

This holiday season, easily send money, scan to pay for your gift purchases,

and donate with ShopeePay

This holiday season, ShopeePay, Shopee’s integrated mobile wallet, makes giving easier and more convenient. With ShopeePay, enjoy meaningful holiday traditions by showing generosity and expressing gratitude through gifts, and donating to chosen charitable organizations. Here are ways to go cashless this holiday season with ShopeePay.

Send money with Christmas-themed Virtual Greeting Cards

Filipinos are all about traditions, especially during Christmas time - from attending Simbang Gabi, hanging parols, and giving and receiving aguinaldo with family members. ShopeePay keeps this Christmas tradition alive by letting users send money for free to other ShopeePay users. Users can personalize their ShopeePay aguinaldo with virtual Christmas cards. Here’s how to send money via ShopeePay:

1. In the ShopeePay Wallet, tap ‘Send Money’ and select ‘To Shopee User’

2. Enter the phone number or Shopee username of the person you want to send money to

3. Input the amount to be transferred, and select from the different virtual cards to personalize the transfer

4. Enter ShopeePay PIN to confirm the transaction.

To send money to other ShopeePay users, you must have a verified ShopeePay account. 

Buy holiday gifts and Scan To Pay with ShopeePay  in over 15,000 stores nationwide.

This Christmas, have a seamless gift shopping experience with ShopeePay. Enjoy cashless transactions and score exclusive cashback or discounts when you scan to pay via ShopeePay QR in over 15,000 partner merchant stores nationwide. For your fashionista friends, shop for gifts at Penshoppe, Plains & Prints, Olympic Village, OXGN, Regatta, and Anello. Workaholic or tech-savvy family members can enjoy gifts from National Bookstore, Digital Walker, MemoXpress, or Power Mac Center; all of which accept ShopeePay as an in-store payment method. 

Christmas baskets are also great to give during the holidays, which can be purchased at Puregold, Family Mart, Newstar Shopping Mart, and other grocery and convenience stores. Something even better than physical presents is quality time; with ShopeePay, you can treat your loved ones at BonChon, Mary Grace, Papa John’s Pizza, Fruitas, and many more food and beverage establishments. Stretch that budget, even more, this Christmas with ShopeePay P1 Deals, to get discounts at restaurants, for food and beverage items, groceries, and more. 

Share your blessings when you Donate with ShopeePay. 

Through ShopeePay, you can also conveniently give to your preferred charitable organization. Among the many NGOs you can donate to include, ABS-CBN Foundation, Gawad Kalinga, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Red Cross, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Save Philippine Seas, UNICEF, Virlanie Foundation, World Vision, and more.  To see the full list of charities and their QR codes visit https://shopee.ph/m/scan-to-pay#anchorId-Donate. 

There are two ways to donate via ShopeePay:

Scan the Charity’s QR Code

1. Go to the ShopeePay homepage and select “Scan.”

2. Scan the charity’s QR code. 

Note: This can be found on the Shopee app or website (https://shopee.ph/m/scan-to-pay#anchorId-Donate) or on the charity’s social media page or website

3. Enter the donation amount and proceed to pay using ShopeePay.

Upload the Charity’s QR Code

1. Go to the ShopeePay homepage and select “Scan.”

2. Select the image icon found on the top right of the screen

3. Upload the image of the charity’s QR code from your phone’s gallery

4. Enter the donation amount and proceed to pay using ShopeePay.

Ruoshan Tao, Head of ShopeePay Online, Philippines, said, “We want ShopeePay to be a meaningful part of the holidays for our users. We are committed to being a platform for good, providing our users with seamless and easy access to digital financial services, especially during this happiest time of the year.  As 2021 comes to an end, we will continue to improve our features to serve the local community to the best of our ability, and help more Filipinos access the benefits of ShopeePay.”

Buy Load, Pay Bills, and Scan to Pay with ShopeePay for safe and cashless transactions this Holiday season. Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Ben&Ben is PH’s most-streamed OPM Artist of 2021 according to Spotify Wrapped

Tweet

On top of the streaming recognition, the band also reaped major honors at the 34^th Awit Awards and landed top-tier collaborations with National Geographic and Jollibee

Ben&Ben is ending the year right with record-breaking achievements on major fronts: from dominating streaming platforms in the Philippines to landing top-tier multimedia collaborations, from sweeping major categories in every important award show to staging their game-changing headline concert.

For a second consecutive year, the nine-piece collective was named the Philippines’ most-streamed OPM Artist and Group of 2021—thanks to the success of their sophomore album, Pebble House Vol. 1: Kuwaderno. According to Spotify Wrapped, the platform’s annual rundown of 2021’s biggest hits, Ben&Ben has amassed nearly 300 million streams in 170 countries, setting a new record for the folk-pop outfit. The Lunod hitmakers also showed impressive performance in the playlisting category as their songs ended up in 5,809,115 major and curated playlists on the digital platform.

On top of the streaming recognition, the acclaimed band recently bagged the top honors at the 34^th Awit Awards—the country’s version of the Grammys. Ben&Ben earned the recognition on four major categories, including the Most Streamed Artist, Record of the Year and Best Inspirational Recording for their chart-topping hit “Di Ka Sayang,” as well as Best Ballad Recording for “Sa Susunod na Habang Buhay.”

Ben&Ben also made headlines for their advocacy work a few days ago, particularly for lending their song “Kayumanggi” on the music video campaign that supports the coastal communities in La Union. The project, which was spearheaded by Emerging Islands, a coastal-based arts organization and National Geographic, showcased the cultural richness and scenic beauty of Bangar and Bauang, San Juan, as well as its hard-working people.

To cap off a successful year, their smash single “Pasalubong,” a collaboration with Moira, was used as the main song for the John Lloyd Cruz-Bea Alonzo reunion film, One True Pair, which streamed on Jollibee’s official YouTube last December 1, 2021.

In an official statement, Ben&Ben expressed that there have been a lot of trade-offs in their personal and collective lives in the past year, but they’re grateful for the success and support of their fandom, Liwanag in every project that they’re part. “With everything happening and all the blessings coming our way, it’s a whole lot to be grateful for indeed,” the band shares. “The hard work is worth it in that sense for sure, but we do go through our fair share of personal struggles as well, especially with this year and even the past year being two of the absolute most challenging years so far, not just for us but for so many in the world too. We want to thank our listeners especially though, because they really were the ones that give us that daily reminder that it is all worth it.”

This weekend, the multi-awarded group is set to perform at the Kuwaderno: A Ben&Ben Online Concert, their biggest headline show to date. Shot live at the Araneta Coliseum, the digital concert is set to redefine the virtual concert-going experience with a fusion of creative disciplines, from theatre to dance, orchestra to technology. The band will also be playing songs off their recently released sophomore album, Pebble House Vol. 1: Kuwaderno, as well as some crowd favorites and hits. Tickets to the show are still available via ktx.ph.

CSMC promotes financial wellness as part of overall health in latest webicon

Tweet

After successfully producing webicons related to its flagship services throughout the year, Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) continues to educate the general public about the importance of health and wellness, including financial stability. With this, CSMC taps into the financial aspect of overall human wellness with “First Things First: Achieving Financial Security by Doing the Right Things”, their newest webicon held on November 17 via ZOOM.

Part of CSMC’s advocacy is to promote a holistic approach to health and wellness, including being financially healthy. The webicon was intended to help CSMC’s audience properly manage finances, especially now during the Christmas season, and find the right plans to avoid suffering from financial stress, as well as securing their health in the future.

CSMC partnered with AIA Philippines and Manulife Group for this webicon and invited AIA Unit Manager Isis Clariz Huang and Manulife Senior Assistant Vice President of Wealth Sales Div Vitancor to talk about financial wellness and how it relates to an individual’s health, and various insurance plans and programs to ensure that one’s physical and financial health is always protected.

Huang opened the webicon with a talk on how to assess one’s overall health and fitness, introducing AIA's science-backed wellness program called AIA Vitality. The program aims to reward users for taking the appropriate steps towards living a healthier life. While the app provides vitality reviews and health checks, Huang also encouraged the audience to find even more personal health and fitness assessments, like getting an e-consultation at CSMC. Huang also shared some of AIA’s vitality insurance plans under the program.

“Being healthy is your number one reward,” Huang said. “With AIA Vitality, you get the best value for your insurance. You have control over the benefits you can enjoy, and we reward you for the little wins so you can live healthier, longer and better lives.”

Vitancor, on the other hand, discussed Adulting, Manulife’s own program when it comes to financial wellness.

“Adulting is the practice of behaving responsibly as adults,” Vitancor shared. “When we say ‘being responsible adults’, there is an expectation that we are doing well with our finances, that we are able to manage our finances.”

Vitancor introduced Manulife’s Unit Investment Trust Fund, encouraging the audience to learn more about the fund and become investors if their objective is to grow their money under a fund managed by professional and highly-trained financial specialists.

Vitancor also stressed the importance of pinpointing the reason why one needs to save or invest and understanding the difference between the two. “When you come to us at Manulife and avail of our services, you come to invest, not to save. We have an array of funds to choose from, and we will recommend to you an ideal fund based on your risk profile.”

A Q&A portion for Huang and Vitancor followed after their talks, and both financial specialists addressed important investment and insurance questions, and emphasized certain points made throughout the webicon.

“Take advantage of your good health,” Huang concluded. “You don’t know for how long you will be in that condition. The earlier that you invest and the earlier that you are able to save your money, the more chances and the more opportunities you have that your money will multiply.”

CSMC plans to produce other webicons related to the other advocacies that it champions such as health and wellbeing and inclusivity, in partnership with internal and external stakeholders.

For more information about CSMC’s holistic health programs, as well as other services the hospital offers, please visit https://cardinalsantos.com.ph/. CSMC is also on Facebook, like and follow them at www.facebook.com/CardinalSantos.

Shopee Ranks 3rd on YouGov’s Global Best Brand 2021 List in the Philippines

Tweet

With more consumers heavily relying on e-commerce, Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, constantly bridges the gap between consumers and sellers through its integrated ecosystem. With its continuous efforts to tailor and adapt to users’ needs, Shopee now ranks 3rd on market research firm YouGov’s Global Best Brand 2021 list in the Philippines, the only e-commerce platform on the list. Shopee was also recognized as the sixth-best brand globally.

YouGov is an organization that’s considered a pioneer in online market research, and for this year’s Global Best Brands ranking, YouGov used data from 54 markets from customers around the globe. They tracked brands for at least six months — and another six months in the prior year’s period to support rankings. All brands are also currently being tracked to reflect the results under the improved brands category. YouGov’s ranking are based on its Index score, which measures overall brand health calculated by taking the average consumer Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Recommend, and Reputation. It also considers the perceptions of a brand’s reputation, whether consumers would recommend the brand to others, and whether it represents good value and quality.

Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, said, “It is humbling for us to see organizations recognize our efforts to connect with more Filipinos. As we head to a new year, it is our mission to continue innovating and serving our stakeholders in the best way we can. For 2022, we are committed to supporting businesses and reaching more consumers, helping them benefit from the growth of the digital economy.”

Ervin Ha, Head of Commercial at YouGov Asia Pacific, said, “Despite the global pandemic, Shopee made into the prestigious list of 10 companies in YouGov’s Best Brands Rankings 2021 in Indonesia (#2), Malaysia (#1), the Philippines (#3), Singapore (#4), Thailand (#3), Vietnam (#3) and across the globe (#6). These rankings recognize brands that are best perceived by consumers across the region. YouGov’s unrivaled panel and always-on data allow us to provide the most accurate and comprehensive picture of how consumers perceive the organizations operating in the region. Shopee, which ranked high in our rankings across the key APAC markets, represents a brand-consumer seen as high quality, value, and has strong levels of consumer impression and satisfaction, which they would recommend to others.”

This recognition is the result of Shopee’s deep commitment to making e-commerce accessible for everyone. Along with its monthly sales that have become part of the lives of Filipinos, Shopee pushed for initiatives that allowed more MSMEs to go digital easily along with new platform features that can help all kinds of businesses thrive in the digital economy. These initiatives also include financial inclusion through its integrated mobile wallet ShopeePay, which helps more Filipinos access digital transactions and go for cashless payments.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.