FINTECH

SWOT ANALYSIS OF EPAYMENT PLAYERS IN THE PHILIPPINES

PRESENTER
Nelson G. Balneg Jr.
Reymark D. Delena
Carlo C. Ayran
Liegao Chen
Li Cheng
 TOPIC OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Background of the ePayment Players
• Technology Platforms
• Challenges and Trends in Online and Electronic Payments
• SWOT Analysis
• Discussion
• Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Recent years, ePayment systems such as mobile and electronic payments have
attracted interest in the Philippines.

It has seen a notable trend for firms and merchants in most commercial industries
to enhance their payment collection scheme by adopting and partnering to new
fund transfer technologies which services are more convenient and efficient.

Further, in the emergence and ubiquity of smartphones and internet usage,

commercial establishments started to extend their business presence in the
internet such as online stores.

INTRODUCTION
PayPal Cross-Border Consumer Research (2018), 55 percent of Filipino online
shoppers are said to spend 122 billion pesos through electronic means in 2018.

According to Chipongian (2017), 86 percent of the Filipinos are unbanked.

This resulted to unbanked population with a pricier choice to transfer fund to

conduct day-to-day operation.

On the other hand, Philippines’ Department of Tourism reported that the top
tourists visiting in the Philippines are Chinese.

INTRODUCTION cont’d
Primarily, China is the leading the industry when
it comes to cashless transactions.

In other words, Chinese tourists are using these

technologies available from their country.

INTRODUCTION cont’d
Several companies viewed these challenges as
opportunity and started to fill gaps through technology
adoption in the fintech industry.

Today, there are eight ePayment top players in the

Philippines such as GCash, PayMaya, AUB PayMate,
Coins.ph, DragonPay, 7-Connect, GrabPay and PayPal.

INTRODUCTION cont’d
INTRODUCTION cont’d
• These players aimed to serve the unbanked Filipinos to make transactions online
that is faster, more convenient and efficient.
 Examine the top players of online and electronic payment in the Philippine context.

Assess the ePayment system providers in term of its strengths and weaknesses from internal
origins, and opportunities as well as threat from external contexts.

This paper will help the researchers to understand and justify the use of online and electronic
payments and how beneficial is the cashless concept into the community and/or to the nation.

PURPOSE OF THE PAPER

BACKGROUND OF THE EPAYMENT PLAYERS
 • In 2012 the legends were ranting to how
hard it was to get a taxi and afterward,
they did something unusual. They have
decided to start a company Grab which
then called MyTaksi to address the
problem.
• This company is also aiming to become
the top mobile payments platform in the
region and adopted the trend through
ePayment. At present, this company
expanded into eight countries across
Southeast Asia such as Philippines,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand,
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Singapore.

GRABPAY
 No more change hunting in
This basically has three
your wallet, just open your
steps, Book, Ride, and Go.
mobile, open grab app, pay
This is how easy to do
the service via GrabPay,
transaction with its new
leave, and go about your
platform.
day.

GRABPAY cont’d.
THE PAYPAL
• The PayPal holdings, Inc. is the
pioneering and most popular
ePayment systems.
• Its ePayment was first offered in 1999
and came in center stage in 2000 due
to a viral crusade, and now belongs to
eBay after acquiring PayPal in 2002
for US$1.5 billion with 100 million
active accounts and 25 currencies.
THE PAYPAL
• Providing a secure wallet system
of transferring funds for senders
and receivers alike are the goal
of PayPal.
• Linking credit or bank account
to PayPal account must be done
by both users which is drawn on
if not enough funds remain in
the PayPal wallet to recognize a
transaction.
 • AUB PayMate developed and
debuted by Asia United Bank
on November 2017.
• The main driving factor why
AUB PayMate launched in the
Philippines is that, according to
country’s tourism department
report, Chinese is the second
largest foreign visitor in the
Philippines.
• The result is staggering
because Chinese tourists who
come to visit the country
dramatically increased.
• This brought opportunities to
merchants and related
industries which experienced
AUB Paymate sales are increasing and
multiplying.
 • AUB Paymate is a mobile
application that accepts
WeChat and Alipay
payments from Chinese
tourist in the Philippines. It
allows payment schemes
from several merchants in
the country such as for
dining, shopping, hotel and
other tourist associated
activities.

AUB Paymate
 • In 2014, Ron Hose and Runar Petursson launched the coins.ph
in the Philippines.
• Coins.ph is mobile and web application platform that uses
blockchain framework. Reyna, A., Martín, C., Chen, J., Soler, E. &
Díaz, M. (2018) and “Blockchain and Financial Inclusion”, (2017)
defined blockchain as a structure that allows transaction of
properties via internet and has the possibility to make world a
more translucent, efficient, secure and auditable place.
• Blockchain can address some problems by providing economical
and convenient financial access.
• Furthermore, blockchain structures information in a chain of
blocks which associated together by a hint from the preceding
blocks, assembled as a chain.

COINS.PH
 • In this, Coins.ph’ objective is to serve the
unbanked or underbanked.
• Today, it has over half a million user and piled
as one of the world’s best applications of
bitcoin and blockchain

COINS.PH cont’d.
 • Coins.ph offers a variety of services such as
direct wallet transfers, payment of bills,
mobile top-ups, remittances and online
shopping.
• It also partnered with pawnshops, banks,
payment centers to offer cash delivery
services across the country.

COINS.PH cont’d.
DragonPay
• DragonPay provides ingenious payment
solutions to support merchants accept or
disburse payments online.
• It focuses on alternative payment
channels such as banks, mobile
payments, ATM’s, and brick-and-mortar
payment centers.
• By doing so, we provide our merchants
convenience, better protection against
fraud, and low transaction fees
 DragonPay cont’d.
• Established in 2010, DragonPay is the brainchild
of CEO Robertson Chiang, who wanted to solve
the problem of low-adoption rate of e-
commerce in the country.
• He wanted to create an alternative mode of
payment that will allow unbanked customers to
pay for products and services without the need
for a credit card or savings account.
• Today, it offers strong merchant features like
Mass Payout and Recurring Payments.
 DragonPay cont’d.
• Thus, payment platform that makes online
purchases possible for people without credit
cards or other online means through
DragonPay-supported merchants.
• Additionally, DragonPay partnered with
government offices as the back-end of their
online payment services (NBI, POEA, IPO,
PSE etc.)
 • Is 7-Eleven’s platform for e-commerce businesses that
enables cash payment convenience for your
customers.
• Customers will be able to pay for online purchases at
any its store.
• An alternative mode of payment that will allow
unbanked customers to pay for products and services
without the need for a credit card or savings account.

7-CONNECT
 • Thus, payment platform that makes online
purchases possible for people without credit
cards or other online means through 7-11.
• Easy payments of online purchases through
7-Eleven stores nationwide.

7-CONNECT cont’d.
 • One of the pioneers in the local Digital Payment
industry, Globe GCash is essentially a digital wallet
that is offered both in card form (GCash Mastercard
or Amex) and via the GCash smartphone app.
• GCash is a fast and secure way to spend and receive
money, pay bills and buy prepaid credits anytime,
anywhere.
• It is simple than a credit card and safer than cash.
GCash allows easy and secure money transfers.

GLOBE GCASH
 • One of the pioneers in the local Digital Payment
industry, Globe GCash is essentially a digital wallet
that is offered both in card form (GCash Mastercard
or Amex) and via the GCash smartphone app.
• GCash is a fast and secure way to spend and receive
money, pay bills and buy prepaid credits anytime,
anywhere.
• It is simple than a credit card and safer than cash.
GCash allows easy and secure money transfers.
• Users may shop at any of GCash’s partner
merchants using only their phone. They may choose
what they want to buy and simply scan the QR code

GLOBE GCASH cont’d.

PAYMAYA
• PayMaya (created by Smart & PLDT) is essentially a virtual
prepaid card for its users’ online purchases, booking flights,
and other needs. It allows fast, secure, and hassle-free
payments for personal and business use.
• Instantly get a secure Virtual Card for all your online buys
just by downloading an app. Scan to Pay with PayMaya QR.
Users can use PayMaya app to scan a merchant's QR code to
instantly acquire their [merchant’s] account details, and
send payment directly to their PayMaya wallet.
• By upgrading their PayMaya accounts, users may also send
money to other PayMaya users, withdraw from any BancNet
ATMs here and abroad through their physical cards, and
increase monthly limits from P50,000.00 to P100,000.00.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS
TECHNOLOGY
PLATFORMS
• As mobile shopping is increasing,
retailers and merchants are seeing
for innovative ways to let consumers
can pay in store using their mobile
phone or on the internet. In 2018,
Statista released the mobile internet
worldwide usage for more than 3.8
billion.
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS cont’d.

• Mobile commerce continually increasing

which generated various online shopping
preferences like purchasing grocery, toys,
games, books, movies, video games as
well as bills payment.
• Banks and other companies are starting
to revamp their business models and
adapt changes to gain competitive
advantage.
 Technology Platforms

• Quick Response Codes (QR codes) - is a type

of 2D bar code that is used to provide easy
access to information through a smartphone.
• Near Field Communication (NFC) - detects
and then enables technology in close
proximity to communicate without the need
for an internet connection. It's easy, fast and
works automagically.
• Blockchain - a digital ledger in which
transactions made in bitcoin or another
cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically
and publicly.
CHALLENGES AND TRENDS IN
ONLINE AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
Fraud and chargebacks - Online transactions are “card-not-present” transactions. As e-commerce expands, there
would be threats like fraudulent misuse of payment networks and data theft.

Cross-border transactions - Cross-border payments play an important role in global trade, but it can be slow,
inefficient, and expensive if national banking infrastructure is hard to handle cross-border payments, and resulting in
independent and non-uniform development in technologies and software platforms that complicate or stall cross-
border transactions.

Card data security - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) certification is required for every
merchant or business accepting credit or debit cards. Six security arenas can be found in this standards: Build and
maintain a secure network and systems; Protect cardholder data; Maintain a vulnerability management program;
Implement strong access control measures; Regularly monitor and test networks; Maintain an information security
policy.

CHALLENGES AND TRENDS IN ONLINE AND

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
Multi-currency and payment methods - Global ecommerce means accepting a variety of
payment methods and currencies. Electronic payments such as e-wallets, mobile
payments, and credit/debit cards help online merchants compete in international markets
by allowing their customers to pay in their native currencies.

Technical integration - Online payment systems run the proprietary gamut across hardware
and software platforms. Credit card-affiliated payment processors, while more secure, can
be expensive for online retailers. Added to the expense is the lack of interface between
processing systems—it may be difficult or impossible for a PSP to link with other systems,
resulting in processing and payment delays, lost transactions, and expensive fees.

CHALLENGES AND TRENDS IN ONLINE AND

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS cont’d.
Internet of Payments - According to Gartner, the number of devices connected to the Internet
of Things (IoT) is set to increase from 6.4 billion in 2016 to 20.8 billion in 2020. Consumers are
increasingly expecting their IoT devices to enable more than just carrying out tasks
automatically; they also try to facilitate payments.
Context-Based Payments - Whether with a real or virtual shopping basket for checkout, it often
takes a moment to decide whether their purchase is really worth it. Integrating payment into
the context of the shopping experience and transaction can render the POS almost invisible for
running automatically in the background of a shopping app being used.
Peer-to-Peer Payments - Payment processes will be increasingly integrated into peer-to-peer
(P2P) systems. For instance, WhatsApp users can already use P2P payments to send money to
friends during online chats in India. Apple is also implementing this feature with Apple Pay
Cash.

TRENDS OF PAYMENTS
Decentralization through Blockchain Technologies - The technological basis for
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will facilitate the creation of more innovative
financial solutions in 2018. Institutions could use blockchain technology to establish
direct connections to eliminate the need for intermediary or correspondent banks.

Commercialization of MNO Wallets - With low financial inclusion in many countries,

peer-to-peer payments through mobile wallets or mobile network operator wallets
(MNO wallets) are the norm. With growing popularity of e-commerce in these
countries comes the commercialization of such wallets for B2C payment methods.

TRENDS OF PAYMENTS cont’d.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Internal Origins and External Origins
 PLAYERS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

GRABPAY • Safe and Secure payment • Controversies regarding • Peer-to-peer (P2P) • Launch of their bug
• Seamless rides payment transactions
• Availability of top-up location
feature bounty program
• Poor network compatibility
• Rewards • Mutually Beneficial
• 24/7 Support They got us covered Partnership
with 24/7 call centers to cater issues • QR-enabled
regarding GrabPay
merchants

PAYPAL • Immense Customer Base • High Exposure to frauds • Move towards • Stringent economic
• Multiple services offerings • High Processing fees Cashless or fewer cash policies
• Exist Globally • Controversies regarding Economies • Competition
• Strong Backing payment transactions • Digital currency and • Hacking and Fraud
• Ease of Use technological threats
advancement. • Banking services
• Tie-ups with business.
AUB PAYMATE • Cashless transaction • Non-available to non- • Attract more Chinese • New entrants
• Free to use Chinese tourist tourists
• Instantly process Alipay and • Limited number of outlets • Open new business
WeChat Pay payments from available ventures to locals
Chinese tourists in the • Safety and Privacy Problem • Increase economic
Philippines • Bills payment is not stability
• Opening an account is included • The omnipresence of
convenient. smartphones and
• Access to real time daily mobile applications
payment transactions
• Real-time currency
conversion
 PLAYERS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

COINS.PH • Opening a Coins.ph account is • Security and Privacy • Online transaction • Competition to
easier problems and payments are traditional bank’s
• There are no minimum cash-in • There is no guaranteed generally accepted by online services
amounts or monthly fees protection for customers younger generation • Restrictions and
• When serving low-risk in blockchain • Bitcoin opportunities regulations from
individuals, they can take
are starting to traditional bank and
advantage of reduced due
shape. Bitcoin miners government
diligence for those individuals.
• It supports a variety of services will start to integrate
from different partners their cash inflow to
• Decreasing fixed overhead bitcoin
costs
• Access to real time daily
payment transactions
• Regulated by Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP)
• Availability of mobile top-ups.

DRAGONPAY • Non-card Payment • Need get ticket first in the • Convenient for non- • Need get ticket first in
• Government Support counter card customer the counter
• More ways to pay • Easy to implement
• Affordable

7-CONNECT • Non-card Payment • Not a true mobile wallet • Large market • Single Entry
• Easy to pay solution • Brand guarantee
 PLAYERS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

GCASH • Ability to link PayPal and • Need to be a Globe
Facebook Messenger Subscriber
• GCash American Express • You have to visit a Globe
Virtual Pay outlet to apply for the card
variant
• GCash charges Php20 for
every Php1,000 and any
amount in excess that you
cash out
• Obtain greater market • Other players in the
share and generation market who may
of greater revenue provide more and
due to Globe’s vast better services to
network and clients (both current
patronage by young and prospects)
professionals and
people in the metros.

PAYMAYA • Supports both Visa and
Mastercard
• Available to any type of telco
subscriber
• No need to visit a Smart
outlet to apply for the
physical card
• Integration with Messenger
• There is a charge of at
least 0.5% to load up from
Smart Money to PayMaya
• PayMaya charges P15 for
every P1000 load-up on
any PayMaya load up
center
• Obtain greater market • Other players in the
share over its market who may
competitors which provide more and
may be attributed to better services to
the variety of services clients (both current
it offers which crosses and prospects).
over between
personal to business
use.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Filipinos are ready to go cashless (Most Filipino consumers show interest in
contactless technologies–Visa survey | Visa, n.d.). According to Visa survey, six
out of 10 Filipinos prefer cashless payment. Approximately 49% have more
cards in their respective wallets today as compared to five years ago, while
29% carry less cash.

The growth of cashless payments can be bestowed to

the strong market emergence of online shopping such as
Lazada and Zalora, and to the seamless transportation.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
According to the survey, 71% of Filipinos now often shop
online, and the e-commerce industry is expected to increase
into 30% year-on-year.

Aside from the emergence of online shopping, other online

and electronic transactions made by Filipinos encompass bill
payments, a more seamless way of settling their bills

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

The players were assessed with the
use of SWOT analysis to help us or
organization identify the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats related to ePayment players.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 1 is part of the Grab Services, the GrabPay. Primarily, Grab maximized the seamless ride concept
through the help of GrabPay ePayment system.

This helped the clientele to have convenient experience from booking, riding, and going about their day.

This platform also is beneficial to the end-users wherein they extended the use of the platform to example, pay
restaurant bills etc.

However, their move on getting to find bugs and vulnerabilities to their software by paying hackers more than
$10,000 gives threats also to their systems.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 1 is part of the Grab Services, the GrabPay. Primarily, Grab maximized the seamless ride concept
through the help of GrabPay ePayment system.

This helped the clientele to have convenient experience from booking, riding, and going about their day.

This platform also is beneficial to the end-users wherein they extended the use of the platform to example, pay
restaurant bills etc.

However, their move on getting to find bugs and vulnerabilities to their software by paying hackers more than
$10,000 gives threats also to their systems.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 2 is a pioneer in ePayment industry, the PayPal. It has immense customer base and has multiple
service offerings.

Additionally, because of its global appearance, PayPal has the most number of active users around the
world. Thus, so much opportunities are into PayPal like in digital technology advancement, tie-ups with
other companies, and giving ways to the developers to make use of its technology for further use of this
trend.

However, due to large count of developers testing its transaction via this platform, PayPal faces hacking
and fraud that are huge threats to itself and to whole industry work.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 3 is part of Asia United Bank added service PayMate. AUB Paymate was launched in 2017
to cater the needs of increasing number of Chinese tourist in the country.

It acts as an intermediary to accept payment from WeChat Wallet and Alipay. Most of the
Chinese are using scan-to-pay scheme. AUB PayMate works seamlessly by scanning the QR
code provided by the merchant and/or the customer without the need of converting their
money into Philippine Peso since AUB PayMate will automatically do it for them.
However, merchants who are offering the service are limited to Cebu, Bohol, Palawan and in
Robinsons Mall in Ermita, Manila. This may hinder the AUB PayMate to expand its presence in
the country.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 4 is coins.ph launched in 2014 in the Philippines based on blockchain framework both mobile
and web-based platforms to fill the gap of the 14 percent unbanked Filipinos.

It aimed to lessen and reduce the transaction charges such as opening an account, fund transfer,
shopping online and bills payments which commonly requires bank accounts. It provides a seamless
fund transfer specifically designed for the overseas Filipino Workers.
However, blockchain has a known security issues. It is not resistant to bad actors in transactions
specifically when transacting using BTC wallet. Transactions are still anonymous by just providing
BTC Wallet address.
Furthermore, as it is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network based in unencrypted persistent TCP connections,
it operates without any reliable third party acting as
a bank.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 5 is dragon pay which provides innovative payment solutions to help merchants accept or disburse
payments online. Its most value is payment platform that makes online purchases possible for people
without credit cards or other online means through DragonPay supported merchants.

It solves the problem by extending the online world to the physical world. Customers can buy online from
e-commerce merchants and fulfill the payment through non- credit card channels.

The payment currently supports online banking of most of the major local commercial banks, physical
ATM payments, over-the-counter (OTC) cash payments at banks and retail establishments (supermarkets,
groceries, department stores, courier centers, remittance centers), electronic wallets or credits.

Furthermore, because the partnership with the government, they have more opportunities to contact
more customers and to maximize the customer market, which is a key factor for marketing success

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Player 6 is 7-Connect which is 7-Eleven’s platform for e-commerce businesses that enables cash
payment convenience for the customers. Customers will be able to pay for online purchases at
any 7-Eleven store.

An alternative mode of payment that will allow unbanked customers to pay for products and
services without the need for a credit card or savings account, means payment platform that
makes online purchases possible for people without credit cards or other online means through
7-11.
The biggest driving force of this mode of payment is 7-11 stores throughout the country. This
mode of payment is built on its own brand value, which not only provides convenience, but also
provides more credibility and feasibility due to the famous brand.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS cont’d.

Conclusion
• According to Pineda (2018), there are three major factors
that hinders Filipinos to adopt the digital way for settling
its bills etc. such as expensive and slow internet access, the
latecomer EMV technology, and most of the Filipinos are
unbanked.
• However, the eight ePayment players in the Philippines
namely, GCash, PayMaya, GrabPay, PayPal, AUB PayMate,
Coins.ph, DragonPay and 7-connect strived to fill the big
gap of the unbanked Filipinos that allows them to initiate
transactions online seamlessly.
Conclusion
• The ePayment eliminates the dependence on bank infrastructure
which reduce hassles on payment procedures and lessen transaction
charges to the platform users.
• Furthermore, it affects the social scenarios wherein not only wealthy
individual could have the opportunity to experience the seamless
transactions but, the necessitous too.
• ePayment platform is made for everybody's good and does not limit
its availability to affluent individuals but rather, for the comfortability
of everybody.
• Finally, the hype of ePayment technologies also increased the
security concerns such as transaction fraud, data security breach and
privacy issues