Leading digital bank and finance app Maya took the global stage at the recently held Google Think Fintech 2022 in Dubai as only Southeast Asian Fintech player featured in the prestigious event.
Maya Chief Marketing Officer Pepe Torres spoke at the tech giant’s exclusive fintech conference for emerging markets around the world. He shared how helping address the pent-up demand for digital financial services which offer superior customer experiences enabled the company to spearhead fintech adoption in the second-fastest growing economy in the region.
“The pandemic led to the acceleration of a wide range of apps in the Philippines. But post-pandemic, customers have been left with a messy financial experience with their money scattered across e-wallet, banking, and investments. We don’t just have the unbanked; we now also have the unhappily banked. We saw an opportunity to simplify all this complexity for the customer by transforming into an all-in-one banking app that’s supervised by the BSP. And based on the market’s response, we’re confident that Maya is on the right track,” Torres said.
Since rebranding in April 2022, Maya has been redefining the fintech landscape in the Philippines. It leaped forward from pure payments play as the first and only integrated financial solutions platform to become the leading digital bank in the Philippines.
Maya’s ability to innovate at the speed of digital has propelled its phenomenal growth, acquiring over 1 million new bank customers and posting more than P10 billion in deposit balance five months after its launch.
According to Torres, boldness was a key attribute in making Maya the top-of-mind brand seizing the opportunity to serve the larger market of the unhappily banked and unbanked Filipinos.
The digital banking app continues to innovate with industry-high daily interest payouts to encourage customers to save, a feature to boost your interest rate by paying for essentials using the app, creating Personal Goals sub-accounts for specific goals that customers want to save for, and hyper-personalized experiences with @usernames which enables customers to send money to a customer’s chosen username instead of a mobile no or QR code. These features aim to empower Filipinos to make bolder choices in their lives through better money management.
Torres also highlighted the importance of translating such a bold move into equally groundbreaking and memorable branding and marketing executions. “We invested in a bold design identity that doesn’t just communicate our transformation into an all-in-one digital bank, but also helps our customers to have a more delightful relationship with money,” explained Torres.
Maya’s presence at the Google Think Fintech 2022 puts the spotlight on the Philippines as a hotbed for fintech innovation and world-class talent. The event provided insights into how the country’s financial inclusion journey is moving forward from access through e-wallet account ownership to deeper financial services adoption with seamless digital banking.
Maya has been changing the game for financial services with its integrated ecosystem approach with embedded digital banking that uniquely positions it among e-wallets, banks, and fintech players in the Philippines.
Today, Maya is the only fintech brand serving all segments of consumers and enterprises with the leading all-in-one digital banking app, the leading enterprise payment processing business, and the most extensive on-ground agent network, Maya Centers.
According to the recently released Google, Temasek, and Bain Southeast Asia e-Conomy 2022 report, the Philippine digital economy will continue its upward trend at 20% year-on-year to reach USD20 billion this year, with e-commerce propelling it to USD35 billion in 2025. The digital financial services industry is expected to sustain growth, with lending and payments at 53% and 18%, respectively.
