Entrepreneurs, heads up! PayMaya’s Sulong Negosyo program helps MSMEs bounce back through its cashless solutions and extra income opportunities
The pandemic has hit all businesses hard these last few months but none more than the micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Studies show that over 99% of all businesses in the country are MSMEs so just imagine the impact nationwide.
Based on figures obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as well as the Department of Labor (DOLE), an estimated 90 million businesses remain closed and over 200,000 workers have permanently lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. Many of them belong to the MSME sector.
This pandemic has a bright side though. Many Filipinos discovered that they had an entrepreneurial spirit. In a recent 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Survey conducted by Go Daddy, 1 in 3 Filipinos started a micro business during the pandemic, becoming home-based entrepreneurs, offering products and services online through social media or chat apps. I can attest to this. I have been ordering items from different friends who pivoted from their previous white-collar jobs to the food, rider service, or other entrepreneurial business. This new wave of home-grown entrepreneurs, forced by circumstance, is spurring the economic recovery of the country.
Not only that, the risks of virus transmission has accelerated the use of cashless and contactless payments. In a conference on digital marketing that I am currently attending, speakers talked about how their digital transformation, which would have taken at least 5 years, has been accelerated and compressed into one year. Businesses are forced to transform and adapt. Fast.
PayMaya is making itself part of that transformation effort. It has allocated up to PhP 60 million in product, programs and partnership support to help jumpstart the recovery and growth of MSMEs in the country aided by cashless and contactless payments.
Raymund Villanueva, Business Head for QR Ecosystems at PayMaya, has this to say about the future of digital payments: “Even as the economy reopens, online, cashless, and contactless transactions are here to stay as customers choose convenience and safety. The next phase of commerce will be digitally-fueled, so equipping MSMEs with the right tools and payment options in order to succeed in this new era is one of our main priorities at PayMaya.”
PayMaya’s Cashless Payment Tools
Here are PayMaya’s current cashless payment tools for MSMEs:
- PayMaya QR codes that can easily be shared via social media or chat apps, or displayed for face-to-face transactions, allowing sellers to receive instant payments from PayMaya users
- PayMaya Payment Links help MSMEs that do not have established e-commerce stores by allowing them to generate links which they can send to their customers for payment. Once clicked, customers will be led to their own PayMaya payment page where they can pay using their PayMaya account or Visa, Mastercard, and JCB credit or debit cards
- PayMaya Checkout Plugins are for MSMEs operating online stores powered by Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce that allow for quick and easier integration of the PayMaya Checkout payment gateway without the need for advanced coding knowledge or experience
To use these cashless tools:
- Sign up and upload your requirements by using the new PayMaya Business Manager at http://pymy.co/BeAMerchant, OR
- Download the PayMaya Negosyo app from the Google Play Store.
Reward Programs for Entrepreneurs
To encourage more MSMEs to go digital and cashless, PayMaya launched its “PayMaya Negosyante Rewards” program, providing benefits to members such as:
- Exclusive rewards to merchants whenever they accept cashless payments through various PayMaya products and solutions
- Free advertisements and marketing tools to help promote their products and services online through PayMaya’s various digital properties and within the PayMaya app
- Free livelihood training and online courses with industry experts to help them gain business and digital skills to prepare them for the New Normal
There are additional business opportunities for MSMEs. They can augment their income by processing remittances, accepting bills payments, and selling mobile prepaid load, among others.
To join the PayMaya Negosyante Rewards program,visit pymy.co/Negosyante to sign up.
Tie-Up with Go Negosyo
PayMaya has tied up with Go Negosyo, an entrepreneurial advocacy group founded by Joey Concepcion, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship.
MSMEs participating in Go Negosyo programs across the country can enjoy access to PayMaya products, with assistance on onboarding, incentives, and training resources.
The launch of Sulong Negosyo has made it faster, easier, and safer for MSMEs to reboot their business. Not only are they going to be able to rebuild what has been lost but the innovations introduced by digital payment platforms such as PayMaya allow them to offer their customers even more convenience than before.
