PLDT’s Voyager eyes new Asian market for PayMaya in Q2

PLDT Inc. unit Voyager Innovations Inc. expects to enter a new market in Asia within the second quarter of the year by offering digital prepaid payments application PayMaya and all of its other services.

Voyager president and chief executive officer Orlando Vea told reporters, the company expects to be able to start operations in a new market in Asia within the second quarter.

“We’re building the ecosystem within Q2 (second quarter),” he said.

He said the expansion to the new market would involve bringing all of Voyager’s other services.

“This is really the full Voyager suite,” he said.

Apart from PayMaya, Voyager offers other products and services focused on digital access, customer engagement, digital commerce, and digital financial services.

Voyager is behind remittance network Smart Padala and digital lending platform Lendr.

The company’s other services include PayMaya Business solutions enabling businesses to accept card payments for online or face-to-face purchases; TackThis! which allows merchants to easily set up an online shop; online marketplace Takatack; and data sponsored platform and customer engagement tool freenet.

Aside from the Philippines, Vea said Voyager currently has operations in Singapore, albeit on a smaller scale, through TackThis! and Takatack.

Earlier, Vea said Voyager is looking to expand and bring its platforms to around two to three countries in Asia within the year.

As Voyager plans to have wider reach by entering new markets, Vea said having strategic partners would be beneficial for the firm.

PLDT chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan had said there are discussions with potential strategic partners for Voyager and a deal may be closed within the first quarter of the year.

Vea said talks with potential strategic partners are progressing and the company is hopeful the negotiations would be completed within the year.