Maya supports roll-out of Paleng-QR Ph in Negros region

Maya, the #1 digital bank app and all-in-one money platform, continues to lead the adoption of QR Ph, the national standard for retail payments, with the successful launch of the Paleng-QR Ph initiative in Negros Occidental, starting with Bacolod City.

Powered by Maya, Bacolod City is now Paleng-QR Ph-ready. Going cashless is now made easier at the Libertad Public Market as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) launched Paleng-QR Ph, with support from all-in-one digital banking app Maya and Smart Communications. In the photo [L-R] Bacolod City Councilor Celia Flor, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez (both in white polo shirt holding a Maya fan) and BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat are flanked by officials and employees from Maya and Smart.

In a ceremony held yesterday, officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Bacolod City local government formally launched the initiative that now allows vendors and tricycle drivers at the Libertad Public Market to send and receive payments from any Maya and non-Maya users with just the QR Ph-compliant Maya QR.

QR Ph is the national standard for retail payments. Consumers can conveniently scan to pay using any QR Ph-compliant app. Merchants, meanwhile, only need one QR code to accept payment from various financial institutions. To encourage more Filipinos to pay via digital means, the BSP Monetary Board has mandated financial institutions to switch to the interoperable QR Ph standard starting July 1.

“We are happy to note that 78% of the registered market vendors and 59% of our transport drivers are already onboarded to the Paleng-QR Ph Plus. With this, Bacolod is on track to making a digitalized and financially inclusive city,” said BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat at the ceremony.

"QR Ph is simplifying how Filipinos make everyday payments, enabling more Filipinos to build their digital footprint and move forward to other financial services. We're proud to lead the rollout of the Paleng-QR Ph in the Negros Islands, starting with Bacolod City," said Mar Lazaro, Head of Ecosystem Solutions at Maya.

“If you think about it, it's better to use a digital wallet. This will make Bacolod City, as we envision, not just a smart city but a super city," said Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez in Filipino.

Uplifting how MSMEs and customers do business in public markets and local transport hubs in Bacolod City through seamless and convenient QR payments. Through Paleng-QR Ph, cashless payments are made simple, inclusive, and interoperable. Now, Maya and non-Maya users alike can pay their suki via any QR Ph-powered code, including Maya QR.

Bacolod City is the latest LGU to transform its public markets into Paleng-QR Ph following Maya's successful launches in Baguio City, Davao City, Tagbilaran City, Lapu-Lapu City, Naga City, and Pasig City.

Joining Maya's Paleng-QR Ph rollout is PLDT's wireless unit Smart Communications. Smart has boosted the city's network to provide the fast and reliable connectivity needs of merchants, tricycle drivers, and consumers.

Maya is making QR Ph usage more meaningful by creating a cash-lite local economy in Bacolod City. As the #1 largest payment processor for enterprises, Maya has already powered the digital payment acceptance of local enterprises – from small shop owners to supermarkets. It has Maya Centers, where consumers can quickly cash in and cash out of their Maya app.

As the first to roll out QR Ph for merchant payments, Maya has already deployed QR Ph-compliant Maya QR to over 800,000 merchant touchpoints nationwide as of end-December 2022.