In an increasingly contactless world, the need for adaptive and convenient payment solutions becomes a necessity. Financial institutions are continuously working to come up with innovative and safe methods of transferring money as more Filipinos move towards a digital society.

One of the digital financial services leaders, PayMaya is the first financial technology firm in the country to adopt QR Ph for merchants. QR Ph is the national quick response (QR) code standard for consumer-to-business payments launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

PayMaya, along with other banks in the country, participated in the pilot run last April 30, 2020.

With PayMaya's rollout of QR Ph to its merchant partners, businesses can easily accept cashless and contactless payments not just from a PayMaya wallet user but also from any accountholder of QR Ph participating banks and other e-wallets.

''Today marks another milestone in our mission to build a Cashless Philippines as PayMaya becomes the first fintech company to support the BSP in its effort to accelerate digital payments around the country through the launch of QR Ph for merchants,'' said PayMaya Philippines President Shailesh Baidwan.

As a participating institution, PayMaya is now rolling out the QR Ph standard to its more than 116,000 merchant partners using its payment devices, gateway, and QR displays. PayMaya is one of the largest non-bank payment acquirers in the Philippines, enabling all types of enterprises to accept cashless payments - from big retailers, e-Commerce players, and government to micro, small, and medium-sized (MSME) merchants, including sari-sari store owners.

For merchants, this means a more streamlined payment acceptance experience, eliminating the need to use multiple QR codes catering to single wallets or accounts.

Building towards a Cashless Philippines

During the QR Ph for merchants launch, Baidwan reaffirmed PayMaya's thrust for a safer, faster, and more inclusive digital payments experience.

"As we conquer the New Normal, QR Ph for retail payments will surely get more businesses -from micro and small enterprises to the largest merchants- to go digital as more Filipinos can now easily and safely do interoperable digital payments using their mobile phones," Baidwan said during his remarks at the virtual launch event.

"QR Ph makes digital payments easier for merchants and consumers, help spur cashless commerce, and promote inclusivity," he added.

Initial participating financial institutions for the initiative include All Bank, Asia United Bank, China Bank, RCBC, Robinsons Bank, and Union Bank.

The BSP is targeting a full nationwide rollout in September 2021 as it targets to achieve a ''cash-lite'' economy by 2023. Under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the BSP envisions converting 50% of the total volume of retail payments into digital and increase the number of adults with financial accounts to 70% of the population.

In late 2019, PayMaya also became the first e-wallet in the Philippines to adopt the QR Ph standard for person-to-person payments, allowing PayMaya users to receive fund transfers from other participating banks and e-wallets by simply scanning the QR Ph code in their PayMaya app.

''With cashless payments now the default for many Filipinos, we are committed to introducing innovations that will help both consumers and merchants safely and conveniently accept digital payments for purchases, whether it is in their physical or online stores,'' Baidwan said.

PayMaya is an end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government. Through its enterprise business, it is one of the largest digital payments processors for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide.

Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 37,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services.

To know more about PayMaya's products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.