(L-R) Benjie Fernandez, Co-COO of PayMaya Philippines, and COO of Voyager Innovations; Orlando Vea, President and CEO of PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations; Manuel V Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT, Smart, PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations; Justo Aboitiz Ortiz, Chairman and CEO of UnionBank; Edwin Bautista, President and COO, UnionBank; and Eugene Acevedo, SEVP, Head of Corporate Banking, UnionBank.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, January 19, 2017 – PayMaya Philippines, the country’s leading digital financial services provider, and Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), one of the country’s top universal banks and leaders in banking innovation, recently inked a new partnership that will further expand access to mobile banking, digital payments, and money transfers for both PayMaya and UnionBank customers.
PayMaya app users, even those without a UnionBank account, can now reload their mobile wallets via UnionBank ATMs and soon, over-the-counter at UnionBank branches nationwide. UnionBank account holders can also load up their PayMaya accounts via online banking and the UMobile app. Purchasing prepaid load through online banking and the UMobile app will also be available soon.
“Through this partnership, two innovators in the local financial space work together to further boost financial inclusion in the Philippines, extending PayMaya services to more users. We are thrilled to see the positive impact of this tie up along with other developments that we can build with UnionBank,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of PLDT, Smart, PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations.
“We look forward to this new partnership with PayMaya, a known pioneer in digital financial services. We are confident that this will help propel the bank to even greater heights,” said UnionBank Chairman and CEO Justo A. Ortiz.
UnionBank is one of the newest additions to the growing network of currently 15,000 PayMaya load-up partners and touch points that include Smart Padala Centers, 7-Eleven, Robinson’s Department Stores, SM Business Centers, and BDO phone and online banking among others.
The partnership for PayMaya is among the several collaborations of UnionBank with PLDT and Smart’s digital innovations unit, Voyager Innovations. Other initiatives include Takatack Rewards for employee incentives tied in with Voyager’s digital commerce platforms, as well as making UnionBank’s UMobile app free of data charges when used by Smart, TNT and Sun subscribers via Voyager’s sponsored data platform, freenet.
“This is the latest in our collaboration with UnionBank and we are happy to work with a forward-looking partner that is likewise leading the charge in transforming the banking and finance industry via digital,” said Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO at PayMaya Philippines and Voyager Innovations.
“Partnership with fintechs ranks high among UnionBank’s objectives in the near future. We will continue looking for ways, such as this endeavor with Paymaya, to find solutions to the growing needs of our customers,” added UnionBank President and COO Edwin R. Bautista.
PayMaya Philippines is the pioneer in mobile money and digital payments with established brands such as PayMaya, the first prepaid online payment app that enables the financially underserved to pay online without a credit card; PayMaya Business, the company’s system solutions provider that allows businesses to receive online and card payments anytime, anywhere; Smart Money, the world’s first e-wallet linked to a mobile phone; and Smart Padala, the leading mobile remittance network in the Philippines. PayMaya Philippines is the digital financial services arm of PLDT and Smart’s digital innovation unit, Voyager Innovations.
