CIS Bayad Center Inc. (Bayad), the pioneer brand in the outsourced bill payment collection service in the Philippines, recently sealed its partnership with Philippine Seven Corporation (7-Eleven), reflecting their shared vision of elevating the financial experience of Filipino bill payors.
Through this partnership, Meralco customers now have the option of paying their monthly electricity bills through 7-Eleven’s CLiQQ Kiosks available in all 4,000+ branches nationwide. This service is further enhanced with Bayad’s real-time posting capability, accelerating the usual 24-hour posting period for third-party payment channels.
“All our efforts at Bayad are anchored on providing convenient, accessible and secured financial services that will promote financial inclusion in the country. For us, Filipino bill payors are not merely consumers, they are the lifeblood of our rebuilding economy,” Bayad president and chief executive officer Lawrence Y. Ferrer said.
“By leveraging synergies with our principals, Kayana and Meralco, I am confident that we can provide sustainable means of driving financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale,” Ferrer added.
The Bayad and 7-Eleven partnership is expected to drive further growth with the support of Bayad’s investor Kayana Solutions Inc. (Kayana), the data innovation arm of the MVP Group of Companies.
“I congratulate Bayad and 7-Eleven on this milestone partnership. Real-time bill posting is essential for millions of Filipinos — it keeps them connected and helps them avoid penalties. By integrating our cutting-edge payment solutions with 7-Eleven’s extensive nationwide network, we’re making real-time payments simpler, smarter, and more accessible than ever,” Kayana chief commercial officer Kat Luna Abelarde said.
Meralco chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan underscored, “The collective effort between Bayad and Kayana aims to create bold e-payment innovations that will empower enterprise players like 7-Eleven, to reshape how Filipino consumers efficiently manage their financial transactions.”
Aside from Meralco, payments for Smart, PLDT, Red Fiber, MMDA violation tickets and National Housing Authority (NHA) mortgages are now accepted in all 4,000 7-Eleven branches, with Cignal and Easytrip RFID top-up, set to be activated within the quarter.
7-Eleven president and chief executive officer Jose Victor P. Paterno shared, “We have been hoping for this partnership to happen for a long time, but ultimately it couldn’t be more timely, with Bayad’s recent capability for real-time payments that leverage our store network’s 24/7 availability, particularly for Meralco electricity bills where that round the clock and real-time availability can be a lifeline. There was a shared belief during the signing that this is just a first step in our partnership between Bayad and Kayana, given 7-Eleven’s recent push to leverage its 4,000+ physical touchpoints and its database of 30M+ unique opted-in customers to drive financial inclusion, in partnership with selected digital lenders.”
Fintech and retail institutions like 7-Eleven that are interested in being a part of Bayad’s extensive payment channel network may send an email to partnerships@bayad.com. Bayad enables partners to attain a nationwide presence and provides end-to-end support services for efficient payment and collection processing.