Maya (mobile payments)
Maya (formerly known as PayMaya), is a Filipino financial services and digital payments company based in Metro Manila, Philippines.[1][2][3]
Founded
2000
Smart Money (2000-2016)
PayMaya (2016-2022)
6/F Launchpad Center, TV5 Media Center Complex, Reliance corner Sheridan Streets, Barangay Buayang Bato, Mandaluyong,
,
- Manny V. Pangilinan
(Chairman, Voyager Innovation;
Chairman, Maya Philippines, Inc.;
Chairman-Emeritus, Maya Bank, Inc.) - Alfred Panlilio
(Board Member, Voyager Innovations &
Maya Philippines, Inc.) - Orlando B. Vea
(CEO, Maya Group)
Voyager Innovations, Inc.
History[edit]
The company was launched in December 2000 as Smart Money powered by Smart e-Money, Inc., in cooperation with 1st e-Bank (formerly PDCP Bank; now BDO Unibank) and Mastercard. It was claimed that it was the world’s first card linked to a wireless phone and was marketed by Smart Communications as one of the biggest innovations in finance.[4]
In January 2016, the service was rebranded as PayMaya and, in the first quarter of the same year, reached the milestone of having processed $1 billion worth of transactions.[5] PayMaya reached 44 million registered users by the end of 2021.[6]
In April 2022, PLDT and Smart Communications, the two companies controlling PayMaya's parent company, Voyager Innovations, announced that PayMaya would be overhauled and renamed Maya, coinciding with the launch of Maya Bank. The said rebranding came to fruition on May 2, 2022.[7]
Recognitions[edit]
Innovation[edit]
In 2021, PayMaya earned two awards from The Payment Association, namely, Leading Emerging Payments Organization Award and Most Innovative Mobile or Financial Service Payments Solution on the merits of PayMaya's commercial success and e-wallet offerings to retail consumers.[21][22]
PayMaya Negosyo and PayMaya's in-app KYC process were recognized as Best in Future of Digital Innovations and Best in Future of Intelligence, correspondingly, at the 2021 Future Enterprise Awards, presented by global market intelligence provider International Data Corporation. PayMaya's QR payments feature, on the other hand, was recognized as Best QR Payment at the 2021 Future Digital Awards for Fintech & Payments, organized by London-based global analyst firm Juniper Research.[23]
Among 12,500 applicants and nominees, Maya was selected by CB Insights as one of the winners in the fifth iteration of its annual Fintech 250 ranking. Maya's parent company Voyager Innovations is one of the two Philippine-based fintech companies to enter this roster – the other being Tonik, a neobank[24]
– alongside Revolut, N26, Stripe, and Binance among others.[25] The Maya app was also named among the world's most innovative apps for digital life at the 2023 Global Mobile Awards held in Barcelona.[26]
Maya Bank was among the 415 banks that Forbes ranked in 2023 based on a global survey of 48,000 customers. The criteria included digital and customer services, financial advice, and user trust. Nine other Filipino banks made it to the list, including CIMB Bank Philippines, Philippine National Bank, and Bank of the Philippine Islands.[27] In August 2023, Maya Bank was also selected as the Best Digital Bank for Southeast Asia at the World Digital Bank (WDB) Awards. It was praised for its recent improvements and ranked as the eighth best global bank by The Digital Banker, the organizer of the WDB Awards. Maya joined other leading digital banks such as Starling Bank, Kokoabank and Revolut.[28]
Privacy[edit]
Maya was recognized by the National Privacy Commission at the 2022 Privacy Awareness Week Awards for its efforts to build a secure financial ecosystem that caters to retail and enterprise customers. The two awards that it got were the Privacy Initiative of the Year for its #FraudPatrol campaign and Privacy Management of the Year for Maya Bank's data privacy practices.[29]
Workplace[edit]
PayMaya was distinguished as the Best Talent Acquisition Team by LinkedIn during its 2021 Talent Awards in the Philippines. The organizers noted that PayMaya successfully leveraged the “10X talent” strategy, a term used in the book "Gamechangers" referring to transformative and agile talents, that allowed them to grow their organization at an unparalleled pace.[30] In 2022, Maya was selected by LinkedIn as a finalist for its Talent Awards in categories such as talent acquisition, talent insights, learning, and diversity;[31] and in 2023, LinkedIn named Maya as one of the Best Workplaces in the Philippines.[32]