LIFESTYLE | PayMaya Visa and the first ever Pinoy Cyber Sale

paymaya visa beep

This morning I just got my very own PayMaya Visa card with beep. It's a three-in-one financial technology product that includes an instant virtual Visa that consumers can use for online shopping and payments, a physical card that can be used at any Visa-accepting brick-and-mortar establishment, and a beep card that commuters can use for their LRT and MRT fares.

It's the perfect time to get one because the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness in the U.S. is now officially being introduced in the Philippines--by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) no less! DTI has partnered with over 20 e-commerce stores in the country, such as Takatack, to launch the first ever Pinoy Cyber Sale, which will run from Black Friday (Nov. 27) to Cyber Monday (Nov. 30).

To the uninitiated, Black Friday is traditionally the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. where retailers kick off the all-important holiday sales season with massive discounts that drive people crazy, who line up at stores hours before they even open (and oh, the fights that erupt). As if this madness weren't enough, Cyber Monday eventually came to be as well.

The Pinoy Cyber Sale thus represents an attempt to recreate this sales boost over a much longer four-day period with similarly irresistible discounts and other promos. While some of its participating retailers--Takatack included--allow payments via cash on delivery (COD), the vast majority still require a credit card to purchase from their e-stores.

It is more convenient after all than having to scramble for cash whenever the delivery guy suddenly shows up at your doorstep (like what happened to me recently when our new dining table arrived hours before its scheduled delivery--oh, the stress!). Unfortunately very few Filipinos own a credit card, with most estimates placing it between a measly 1% and 5% of the total population.

For the rest of the Philippines, however, there is PayMaya. Launched in August this year, PayMaya is a first-of-its-kind digital payments mobile app and prepaid card that was built for emerging markets like the Philippines in mind. In addition to the physical card, PayMaya comes with an instant virtual Visa, a breakthrough in this arena.

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To avail of the instant virtual Visa, all you have to do is download the PayMaya app from either the App Store or Google Play, and register with your mobile number (yes, be it Smart, Sun, Globe or whatever). No application forms necessary here; just the in-app registration. The app gives you your own virtual Visa, which functions like a prepaid or debit card that you can top up with money and use for your online payments wherever Visa is accepted. Just like a credit card!

It's all about financial inclusion and further boosting the local e-commerce scene, and PayMaya is right up there in enabling access to the digital economy for more Filipinos.

So, are we ready to shop? Here's the list of participating merchants:

Takatack
Reloved
Island Rose
Best Western Antel
Goods
Shopee
Ensogo
Foodpanda
Zalora
Lazada
Xend Business Solutions
Shopinas
Weemall
Ava.ph
Azalea Residences
Ellana Minerals
Mimaropa Ventures
One Network E-Commerce
Shopback

Have a happy time shopping over the long weekend!

Comments

  1. Thank you so much... your blog is giving very useful knowledge for all.i didn’t have the knowledge in this now i get an idea about this.. thks a lot:-)
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