The Philippines' top payment provider adds crypto to its mobile app

Published at: April 7, 2022

Philippines-based major fintech company PayMaya has reportedly launched a new cryptocurrency feature on its app, following in the footsteps of PayPal, Venmo and others.

According to TechInAsia, PayMaya users will be able to trade, purchase, and spend digital assets using their accounts. This is also part of PayMaya's aim to offer a comprehensive crypto package for anybody interested in entering the market.

With the new feature, PayMaya intends to make it simpler for Filipinos to learn about and use cryptocurrencies, as per the report. Furthermore, it will eliminate the necessity for users to register with cryptocurrency exchanges, create a crypto wallet, and go through other KYC hoops.

PayMaya is the Philippines' largest provider of digital payments. It's also a virtual money issuer (EMI) and virtual asset services provider (VASP), licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines' central bank. The PayMaya app has over 40 million registered users.

Shailesh Baidwan, the president of PayMaya, commented on the growing popularity of cryptocurrency among Filipinos saying:

“With the PayMaya e-wallet already a part of their everyday life for daily purchases and transactions, our customers now want to be able to buy and earn crypto smartly and seamlessly. That is why we are making it an integrated feature in our e-wallet app.”

PayMaya users with upgraded accounts can directly trade their Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) for Philippine pesos. Other cryptocurrencies available for trading on the site include Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), UNISWAP (UNI), Solana (SOL), Quant (QNT), Polkadot (DOT), Polygon (MATIC) with more coins to be added soon.

Related: The Philippines to launch pilot CBDC implementation

ASEAN countries have experienced a growing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in recent years. The Philippines, in particular, has been at the forefront of embracing digital assets and has even taken steps to regulate the industry. The Philippine Department of Finance made it clear that it wants a piece of the profits generated by playing Axie Infinity and other play-to-earn games, amid the colossal success of the crypto-powered game Axie Infinity in the country.

Tags
Adoption
Blockchain
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Fintech
Philippines
Related Posts
Women, decentralization and the world’s economic drive: Experts answer
The economic recession of 2008 to 2009 resulted in the invention of Bitcoin (BTC), creating a brand new financial system that is now growing and developing rapidly. Back then, the Harvard Business Review published an article titled “The Female Economy” pointing out that about $20 trillion of the annual consumer spending in the world was controlled by women, and “That figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years.” Also in 2009, Claire Shipman and Katty Kay published the book Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success. Though the term “womenomics,” and the concept itself, was …
Adoption / March 8, 2021
Bitfinex Lists New Cross-Chain DeFi Token to Drive DEX Liquidity
Major crypto exchange, Bitfinex, continues to drive decentralized finance, or DeFI, adoption by announcing support for a new cross-chain DeFi solution. Bitfinex exchange plans to list pTokens (pBTC) — a new token that aims to unlock cross-chain DeFi liquidity by connecting Bitcoin (BTC) to any blockchain. The token is pegged 1:1 to Bitcoin and is compatible with the Ethereum (ETH) and EOS DeFi ecosystems to date. Bitfinex to streamline liquidity flows between centralized and decentralized exchanges Bitfinex CTO, Paolo Ardoino, told Cointelegraph that the platform expects to add support for pBTC deposits and withdrawals by the end of May 2020. …
Decentralization / April 24, 2020
Payment services provider Shift4 acquires The Giving Block for $54 million
According to an investor presentation published Tuesday, U.S.-based payment solutions provider Shift4 announced its acquisition of The Giving Block in cash and stock for $54 million, plus a potential earnout of up to $246 million. The Giving Block is an online platform that allows over 1,300 nonprofit organizations and charities to accept crypto donations. As told by its annual report, the organization processed $69.64 million in crypto donations, an increase of 1,558% from 2020. Out of this amount, approximately $12.3 million came from donations by nonfungible tokens, or NFT, projects. Ether (ETH) became the most-popular crypto donated for the first …
Adoption / March 1, 2022
How to store Bitcoin on MetaMask?
MetaMask is a well-known wallet for Ethereum-enabled distributed applications (dApps). But can MetaMask hold Bitcoin (BTC), which remains the largest cryptocurrency? For many crypto investors, Bitcoin is an important part of their portfolio. Besides being an investment asset, Bitcoin can also be used as a payment method. Thanks to wallets such as MetaMask, paying via blockchain technology has become much easier. This Ethereum crypto wallet enables millions of investors to participate in everything the crypto market has to offer. Even though Ether (ETH) is a very popular means of payment, most people buy Bitcoin. Related: How does Bitcoin work and …
Adoption / April 26, 2022
Top 5 universities to study blockchain in the UK
Universities in the United Kingdom have started offering cutting-edge research programs, courses and practical experience in various aspects of blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, privacy, security and scalability. Students who graduate from these programs will be well-equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to become leaders in the field of blockchain technology and drive innovation and adoption in various industries. Here are top five universities to study blockchain in the United Kingdom. University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, and its Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) is a leading research …
Adoption / Feb. 28, 2023