Digital bank and mobile app Maya introduced business opportunities to residents of Muntinlupa City during DAILY TRIBUNE’s sixth Asian Innovation Forum (AIF) on 25 April.

Joms Ramirez II, Maya’s business head for Metro Manila, said Maya Business allows sari-sari store owners to process load purchases and fund transfers to e-wallets, providing them with additional income.

“In the past, sari-sari stores earned mostly from selling cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, and soft drinks. Now, people go to sari-sari stores to get load for calls, texts, and internet, or cash in and cash out because they are the nearest to the people,” he told hundreds of participants in Barangay Bayanan Baywalk, Muntinlupa City.

“The stores have evolved into banks,” Ramirez noted. They are called Maya Centers, a one-stop shop for customers’ daily money needs.

Ramirez said sari-sari store owners could make 13 percent from facilitating load transactions.

He said this is possible as Maya offers a 3-percent discount for the service, and the store owners can charge a 10-percent profit.

Ramirez said they can also receive a 1.15-percent commission whenever their customers ask for cash in or cash out.

For bill payments, he said store owners can charge P2 per customer and an additional service fee, which he said should be 1 percent ideally.

Lastly, store owners can earn P70 by convincing an app user to switch to Maya for a zero service fee on fund transfers.

Maya said it has over 100,000 partner agents who are lured by the income opportunities for store owners and the savings for their customers.

“Maya Centers provide convenience to customers, as they no longer need to ride tricycles to the mall, transact with financial firms there, and then be tempted to eat at restaurants afterward,” Ramirez said.

To meet the likely higher demand for services from partner agents, Ramirez said store owners can borrow working capital through Maya Advance.

This provides them with funds through a pre-qualification loan application process. Ramirez said borrowers can obtain credit ranging from P1,000 to P350,000.

Fake agents

Maya, however, warned the public that its agents do not require copies of identification cards and signatures when providing load services to store owners.

“We also have aggregators who visit stores to replenish their load. But store owners will just be asked to upload photos of their IDs directly on their app,” Ramirez said.

There’s no need for signatures as Maya’s agreements with the users are all digital,” he added.