HOMEGROWN financial technology (fintech) start-up NextPay, backed by the Sy and Ayala groups, has struck a partnership agreement with online-to-offline (O2O) payments provider Ayannah to enable its customers to disburse funds to unbanked recipients.
Under the partnership, NextPay leverages Ayannah’s tie-up with almost 10,000 remittance centers to enable small businesses to send money to their employees, suppliers, and customers.
“We understand that a majority of our population are still unbanked with only three out of 10 Filipinos owning a bank account. Even with the pervasiveness of eWallets, a huge part of the population still does not have access to basic financial services. NextPay aims to serve them by allowing unbanked recipients to receive funds through the nearest remittance centers in their area,” NextPay Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Don Pansacola said.
To use the service, NextPay users need only to click on the disbursements tile on the NextPay dashboard, choose between single or batch disbursements, and input the personal details of the recipient. Then, they can choose “remittance center” as their receiving option and confirm the transaction.
The recipients will receive a text message and an e-mail containing the transaction reference number.
Recipients may claim the funds through the almost 10,000 branches of remittance centers nationwide, including LBC, Tambunting, Raquel Pawnshop, Panalo Express, RD Pawnshop, ACM-VIP, and Sendah Direct Agents.
“This online-to-offline service enables us to strengthen our shared goal of providing basic financial services to more Filipinos—especially the unbanked. By partnering with NextPay, we are also simplifying the process of disbursements for growing businesses and even individuals,” Ayannah Founder Mikko Perez said.
NextPay was launched during the pandemic and recently raised $1.9 million in fresh investments from global and local investors, including the Sy and Ayala groups.
Since then, NextPay Chief Experience Officer and Co-Founder Aldrich Tan said the start-up has introduced new digital solutions including payment links and is now beta testing corporate cards.
Payment links are easily generated and can be single-use or reusable. They allow businesses to collect customer payments easily by letting them click on a link that allows them to settle with the payment method they prefer.
Corporate Cards, meanwhile, allow business owners to monitor their transactions easily by having a virtual debit card where bills, subscriptions, and company payments may be charged. This removes the need to use their personal cards for business expenses.
“Since we have successfully raised fresh funding from our investors in the first half of 2021, we have been working to accelerate our growth and introduce more digital banking solutions to support the needs of growing businesses, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and even startups,” NextPay Chief Experience Officer and Co-Founder Aldrich Tan said.
Read full article on BusinessMirror
