Sending cash gifts? Try PayMaya’s ‘digital aguinaldo’ via Messenger

MANILA, Philippines — PayMaya Philippines Inc., in partnership with Facebook, is making it easier to send Christmas cash gifts to family and godchildren through the launch of the “digital aguinaldo” service in the Messenger app.

“Today, just like many facets of our modern lives, sending aguinaldo to godchildren during Christmas has now become digital,” Paolo Azzola, chief operating officer and managing director at PayMaya Philippines, said.

He said the launch of the digital aguinaldo is in line with promoting a cashless society in the country through services relevant to Filipino customers.

Giving aguinaldo to young family members and godchildren is one of the unique ways Filipinos celebrate Christmas. This is usually done by handing out paper bills, usually freshly-printed ones withdrawn from the bank.

With PayMaya’s digital aguinaldo service, giving cash gifts is made easier as it can be done anytime and anywhere.

To send cash gifts, the sender would need to link his or her PayMaya account to Messenger by chatting with @PayMayaOfficial. 

If the sender has no PayMaya account, he or she can sign up for an account using any mobile number from all networks using Messenger.

Once the account is linked to Messenger, they can upgrade their accounts to use the ‘Send Aguinaldo’ feature and load up their accounts via PayMaya’s more than 15,000 top-up partners nationwide.

After chatting with @PayMayaOfficial in Messenger, the sender simply needs to click the “Promos & Gifts” tab, and click the “Send Aguinaldo” option.

The sender will then have to choose the Facebook friend who will receive the cash gift, enter the amount of money to be sent, and swipe right or left to choose the perfect design to go along with the money gift.

After tapping the “Pay” button, the user will be asked to enter their Facebook password, after which the money will be sent to the recipient.

The feature is currently available to Android users and those with upgraded PayMaya accounts.

Once the person receives the money via Messenger, it automatically goes to their PayMaya account if they have already registered, or they will be given the option to create one if they don’t already have a PayMaya account set up.

Apart from sending aguinaldo, PayMaya users can also buy prepaid load for themselves, send prepaid load as a gift to others, or pay their bills using the Messenger app.

Earlier, PayMaya also enabled Filipinos to have new ways to pay and do financial transactions through PayMaya QR (quick response) which allows them to do in-store payments by simply scanning a QR code displayed within the merchant’s premises on their smartphones.

PayMaya Philippines, the country’s pioneer and leader in cashless payments, is the digital financial services arm of PLDT Inc.’s digital innovations unit Voyager Innovations Inc.