PayMaya helps LGUs, state firms distribute P1.4 billion aid

MANILA, Philippines — PayMaya, the digital services arm of PLDT’s Voyager Innovations, said financial aid under the social amelioration programs of various national government agencies and local government units disbursed through the platform has reached more than P1.4 billion.

The amount went to at least 120,000 citizen beneficiaries nationwide since the start of COVID-19 community quarantine last March.

With the need for a quick and efficient system to disburse financial aid, the government both at the national and local level has turned to PayMaya’s e-wallet and its other digital financial services.

“To address the COVID-19 crisis, government agencies and LGUs have adopted digital technologies such as PayMaya in providing crucial aid to their constituents. Having an e-wallet is the fastest and easiest way for citizen beneficiaries to avail of critical services such as government aid, ensuring that no one is left behind,” PayMaya founder and chief executive officer Orlando Vea said.

PayMaya said funds from the Social Security System’s (SSS) Small Business Wage Subsidy program were disbursed directly to the PayMaya accounts of registered beneficiaries nationwide in as fast as two weeks for the first tranche.

Aside from the SSS, the Department of Social Welfare and Development also tapped PayMaya to help distribute monetary aid to displaced workers around the country as part of its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program.

The cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasig, and Quezon City were among the first LGUs to have utilized digital payments to deliver financial aid straight to the PayMaya accounts of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, and scholars in their respective localities.

Vea is encouraging leaders in government to begin establishing inclusive cashless ecosystems around the country as part of safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

PayMaya recently signed a partnership with the Bureau of Customs to enable the agency with digital payments acceptance, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow the agency to accept credit/debit card and e-wallet payments for passport application and renewal appointments.

It provides Filipinos with the fastest way to own a financial account with over 40,000 add money touchpoints nationwide, more than double the total number of traditional bank branches in the country combined.