Maya territory solutions manager Richard Mercader on Tuesday underscored the importance of cashless payments during the 7th DAILY TRIBUNE Asian Innovation Forum held at Bacoor City, Cavite.

Mercader highlighted the benefit of cashless payment and how AIF participants, which comprised of public utility vehicle drivers, could use it to their advantage.

"Makakatulong sa atin yung cashless payment (Cashless payment could help us)," Mercader said.

He stressed that over 30 percent of the Philippine population is under 30 years old.

"Sila po yung may mga smartphone. Ano pong ibig sabihin nun para sa mga namamasada? Yung mga pasahero po ninyo, karamihan po sa kanila mayroong electronic wallet, katulad po ni Maya, katulad po ni GCash na kaya pong magbayad sa inyo kahit wala po silang pera (They are the ones with smartphones. What does that mean? Your passengers, most of them have electronic wallets, like Maya or GCash that they can use even if they don't have physical money)," Mercader explained.

"Kailangan lang po mismo na kayong nagpapasada ay mayroon kayong e-wallet din, katulad ni Maya at ni GCash (You just need to have an e-wallet like Maya or GCash)," he added.

Mercader also noted that 90 percent of consumers pay cash.

"Ten percent lang po ang nagbabayad ang mga electronic wallet or via bank payment, so gusto po natin yung baguhin kasi po yun yung initiative or kampanya ng Bangko Sentral [ng Pilipinas] (BSP) na kung hindi man booked lahat ng transaksyon natin, e dumami po yung gumagamit ng cashless payment (Only 10 percent pay via electronic wallets or via bank payments so we want to change that because that is the initiative or campaign of the BSP that if all our transactions our not booked, at least the number of people using cashless payment will increase)," he added.

He also pointed out that the campaign is also initiated by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) so the agency, together with BSP, can easily monitor transactions to avoid money laundering acts and terrorist financing.

In 2019, BSP launched the QR (Quick Response) Ph as the national QR Code standard which aims to adopt an efficient and standardized digital payment system for both merchants and customers in the country.

Mercader said cashless transactions are also time and cost-efficient.

"Makakatipid po tayo ng oras sa panunukli. Pag may nagbayad sa inyo ng pamasahe, wala nang suklian. Bibigyan ho kayo ng QR ni Maya, pagbayad ni customer, sakto na (You'll save time from giving change. When someone pays you fare, you don't need to give change. Maya will give you a QR, the customer pays, and that's it)," he continued.

"Pagbayad sa inyo ni customer, nasa e-wallet, pag magbabayad kayo sa gasoline station, nasa wallet. So yung ecosystem po natin nabubuo na. Pera ni customer, nasa e-wallet niyo, ibinayad po ninyo sa mga pangangailangan ninyo. Pwede ho pambayad ng bill, bumibili ho kayo ng load sa inyong mga cellphone, pang-Internet, pantawag (The customer's payment is in the e-wallet, when you pay at the gasoline station, it is in the wallet. So our ecosystem is already being formed. The customer's money is in your e-wallet, you pay for your needs. You can pay your bills, cellphone load, Internet)," he added.

Mercader said Maya helps merchants to "shift to innovation."

To create a Maya account, one must need to just download the app, open it, tap Profile then select "Upgrade your account."

They must also fill out the required information and make sure to have at least one valid primary ID and ensure that the name and birthday they will enter matches the name and birthday reflected in the valid ID they will be uploading.

Aside from Maya, the AIF also featured resource speakers from Cebu CFI Cooperative and SB Cooperation, companies that provide financing to medium, small, and micro entrepreneurs which account for 99.2 percent of all companies in the Philippines.