Empowering Filipino consumers through online comparison tools
Are you availing yourself of or planning to purchase any of these soon: car insurance, credit card, broadband contract, or housing and personal loan? If yes, you might want to check out MoneyMax.ph to ensure that you are making informed choices before you shell out money.
With a number of companies offering products and services in these areas, Filipino consumers are bombarded with numbers, statistics, and details. But the abundance of information does not necessarily translate to information that could be useful in determining which among the many options offer the best deals for consumers.
In 2013, CompareAsia Group – Asia’s leading financial comparison platform – set up operations in the Philippines to help Filipinos save money and make better choices about personal finance with comprehensive, free, and independent online comparison tools for insurance, credit cards, personal loans, and other financial products.
To deliver on this promise, the Group launched online platform MoneyMax.ph ( www.moneymax. in the country in 2014. “The vision was to create a fair, independent, and trusted comparison website for consumers seeking to get the best deals and services that most suit their personal needs as well as grow their awareness of personal finance products and services,” says Gerald Eder, CompareAsia Group co-founder and managing director.
Eder furthers the Group’s vision also provides a more direct and cost-effective channel for banks, insurance, and financial providers to reach their consumers. “Engaging customers online is much more trackable and effective than expensive ad campaigns, large sales forces, and more branches,” he says.
MoneyMax Philippines managing director Jorrit Koop explains the website offers factualbased comparisons for products from all providers. “MoneyMax. ph does not promote any offers or post advertising from banking and insurance partners. The comparisons and rankings are not affected by how much banks pay MoneyMax.ph so the rankings are completely independent, fair, and trusted,” asserts Koop.
Consumers need not pay any registration fee when using the site. They can also filter the list using the criteria that matter most to them. For instance, when comparing credit cards, one can rank the products by lowest interest, annual fee, cashback, rewards, air miles, petrol, among others.
“Customers can save money and time and get the best deals in personal financial products and services. They can find the products that best match their need,” Koop adds.
To allow them to understand the market and get information first hand, CompareAsia Group is in constant talks with product and service providers. Currently, MoneyMax.ph’s crown jewel is car insurance.
MoneyMax.ph has forged partnerships with some of the best insurers in the Philippines to make it easier for Filipino consumers to find the right automobile insurance that fits their needs.
Koop says, “We are offering impartial advice to customers on the phone on what are the best policies for them to avail of, depending on their specific needs and preferences. We are able to get a policy to the customer at a record speed in the Philippines due to us taking on all the issuance, payment, and fulfillment in-house. In that way, we ensure Filipinos can drive with peace of mind.”
CompareAsia Group has presence in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Why did they see the need to invest in the Philippines? Eder cites the 2014 data from GlobalWebIndex that said that the Philippines has the fastestgrowing Internet population in the world. He also mentions that their research shows that “Asia Pacific overall is soon to become the biggest e-commerce region in the world, and will surpass US by 2018.”
“This all means more demand for credit cards, loans, financial services and increasingly the demand to research and purchase these products online. There is a growing culture for comparison services, such as travel and retail. Personal finance is the next big thing,” says Eder.
Both executives say the website ultimately aims to empower Filipino consumers to make better informed decisions to improve their financial standing. This will be achieved by making valuable and useful information available to them through an online platform such as MoneyMax.ph.