E-COMMERCE RUSH INSPIRES PAYMAYA TO BUILD OWN DIGITAL SHOPPING MALL

Digital financial services company PayMaya on Thursday launched its own online shopping mall as it bets on the thriving e-commerce business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company rolled out the PayMaya Mall on its app, which would feature over 100 merchants such as major fast food chains, supermarkets and apparel brands.

“Mall shopping is so ingrained in Filipino popular culture and the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected not just consumers but also, the growth of retail merchants,”

PayMaya president Shailesh Baidwan said in a statement.

PayMaya’s platform has about 28 million customers and new features such as a digital shopping mall aim to drive up volumes and usage amid growing competition with rival financial technology services.

PayMaya is backed by companies such as PLDT Inc. and China’s Tencent Holdings. Unlike competitors, it is the only financial technology company in the country providing end-to-end digital payments solutions.

Given its reach, PayMaya processed over P95 billion in online shopping transactions last year. Digital payments for e-commerce already outpaced cash as of 2020, it said.

“With our push toward embedded commerce within the PayMaya app, we aim to help foster the growth and recovery of local businesses,” said Mark Jason Dee, head of growth marketing and partnerships at PayMaya.

“At the same time, we are offering a more convenient and rewarding shopping experience to all our PayMaya users,” he added.