AUB expands coverage of e-wallet platform

MANILA, Philippines — Rebisco-led Asia United Bank (AUB) continues to push cross-border payments as it further expands the footprint of its electronic-wallet (e-wallet) to more countries.

Wilfredo Rodriguez Jr., head of Operations and Information Technology at AUB, said the bank continues to expand the coverage of its e-wallet HelloMoney abroad.

“We will continue to bring HelloMoney closer to more users to make mobile banking easier and for more merchants to help their business grow and thrive in the post-pandemic world. With Alipay+’s global presence through its integration with local merchants worldwide, our HelloMoney users will have a wider reach in payment acceptance while ensuring a safe and secure digital transaction,” Rodriguez said.

Launched in 2019 ahead of COVID pandemic, HelloMoney enables users to open an account without going to a physical branch and perform bank-to-bank fund transfers, buy prepaid load, remit money through PeraPadala, pay via QR code, settle bills, withdraw via ATM and shop online using HelloMoney’s very own virtual Mastercard.

Members of state-owned Home Mutual Development Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund could also manage their account and perform banking transactions through the Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card Plus via HelloMoney.

Through AUB’s partnership with Alipay+, a suite of cross-border payments, marketing and digitalization solutions operated by Ant International, HelloMoney users can now make e-wallet payments in South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong by simply scanning the QR code displayed in merchant stores in these countries.

This makes cross-border payments using HelloMoney now possible in four countries and region, including Japan.

 In South Korea, HelloMoney users could scan the ZeroPay QR, the country’s public QR-code-based digital payment service available in over 1.7 million merchants nationwide.

South Korea has been making its digital payment services more seamless for Asian tourists visiting the country by connecting local merchants with various mobile payment methods foreign tourists use.

In Malaysia, HelloMoney users could also scan DuitNow QR, the country’s National QR Standard operated by PayNet, which is available in 1.8 million merchants in Malaysia.

The number of HelloMoney transactions soared 65 percent to 30 million in end October this year from last year’s 19 million.

This translated to an 82 percent jump in value to P115 billion from P63 billion.

“Over the years, AUB has been building a digital arsenal that include pioneering initiatives and innovations — from end-to-end digital account opening, to enabling clients to make banking easy through their mobile phone and merchants to sustain their businesses even with restricted mobility during the pandemic. With Alipay+’s global presence through its integration with local merchants worldwide, our HelloMoney users will have a wider reach in payment acceptance while ensuring a safe and secure digital transaction,” Rodriguez said.

Over a million HelloMoney users are able to take advantage of more competitive exchange rates compared to prevailing market rates.