Tag: Philippines

Philippines – In 2023, real-time payment transactions in the Philippines experienced a 24% year-on-year (YoY) growth, with transaction volumes reaching 777 million, according to a report by ACI Worldwide.

The report also projects that the volume will soar to 1.54 billion by 2028. The real-time payments’ share of all digital payments in the country is projected to grow to 58.7% by 2028, while its transaction value is expected to reach USD 209.6 billion in the same year. 

As of 2023, real-time payments accounted for 47.2% of all Philippine digital payments, with a transaction value of USD 89.5 billion.

The surge in digital payments, including real-time transactions, in the Philippines accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting a shift towards a cashless economy. The report highlights that this shift is driven by growing consumer demand for simpler, faster, and more secure transactions, with Filipino consumers citing these as the primary reasons for adopting digital payment tools.

ACI Worldwide’s report also identified a strong correlation between the growth of real-time payments and mobile wallet adoption. The Philippines ranks fifth globally in mobile wallet adoption, with 88% of Filipinos using a mobile wallet in the past year. The report further revealed that QR codes, mobile wallets, and bank accounts are the primary authorization methods used by Filipino consumers to initiate real-time payments.

Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to join the Regional Payment Connectivity initiative, linking ASEAN countries under a single QR code system. This move, aimed at enabling real-time cross-border payments, is part of the central bank’s broader strategy to promote financial inclusivity and digital payments, potentially reducing remittance costs and boosting the economy.

Leslie Choo, senior vice president and managing director for APAC at ACI Worldwide, commented, “Real-time payments hold the potential to facilitate greater economic growth and financial inclusion in the Philippines by eliminating payment friction and injecting greater liquidity in the financial system. As Filipinos continue to embrace digitization, we encourage the local banks and financial institutions to harness technological innovations that will enable them to fully leverage the capabilities of real-time transactions.” 

“Real-time payments are now a real-world reality, and banks have the opportunity to innovate where real-time payments sit in the customer journey and the end-to-end payments landscape to provide a differentiated experience. At ACI Worldwide, we want to collaborate with banks, merchants, and billers in the Philippines and around the world to enable them to tap into emerging use cases of real-time payments through payment modernization and transformation,” Choo added. 

Manila, Philippines – CJ de Silva-Ong, most recently the executive creative director of TBWA\SMP has passed away at the age of 36, as announced by her husband Wincy Ong. In a Facebook post, Wincy stated that CJ had suffered two strokes while in ICU before she passed away.

“She was a passionate executive creative director in the industry she loved so much–advertising. She used her talents in illustration and painting in championing causes close to heart,” Wincy said in his post.

CJ has been with TBWA\SMP for over 16 years where she began as an art director in 2008 before being promoted to creative director roles since 2014. She was named the agency’s executive creative director in July 2022.

In an online statement, TBWA\SMP reflected on her illustrious career on aiding in conceptualising the agency’s various creative works for over a decade as an artist and creative director.

“One could say that Cj de Silva-Ong was one of the most passionate advocates for advertising, an industry and career that she cherished. She was a gifted creative director, illustrator, and podcaster, who helmed iconic ads and award-winning campaigns for TBWA\SMP for 16 years. But she was also a dedicated colleague, a compassionate leader, and a true friend. We are grateful to have had 16 wonderful years with her,” the agency stated.

Outside of the advertising industry, CJ is also a known artist, painter, graphic designer and illustrator and had staged three major solo-artist exhibitions. She was also known as was known as a “Gifted Child” and a “Promil Kid”, being featured in an infant formula ad in 1998.

Her wake will be held from June 20 to June 22 at The Heritage Park in Taguig City, followed by a cremation service on June 23.

With the prevalence of online shopping in the current business landscape, businesses are now starting to catch on by creating an online presence that demands advanced payment solutions and sophisticated e-commerce marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

Keeping these strategies in mind, there is more to e-commerce marketing besides just simply having a digital space to sell products online. Businesses and brands still have to properly interact and cater to the needs of their consumers behind their screens.

As part of our E-Commerce Marketing Series interviews, we spoke with Emmanuel Cruz, e-commerce lead at Mondelēz Philippines, to learn more about his insights on how e-commerce marketing strategies should be based on consumer behaviour, as well as how e-commerce affects businesses and brands, and the trends that dictate what’s next to come for it. 

E-commerce pros and cons within F&B

The e-commerce marketing landscape is significantly dynamic, which is matched by the agility of brands and businesses to become agile to catch on what is currently relevant.

For Cruz, this is a challenge because strategies and plans are constantly pivoting, especially for multinational corporations such as Mondelez, wherein these shifts require a lot of internal alignments and approvals which can take up quite some time.

Additionally, he mentioned that there are also other challenges, such as finding the right mix of assortment to differentiate a brand across different platforms, the rising costs on operations to fulfil orders on new platforms, and the investment on traffic, media and even promos.

These challenges may seem as an obstacle for many, but Cruz says that it can present itself as an opportunity in the online space if brands and businesses act quickly to reap its rewards within a new platform.

“ This can be seen as an opportunity because most brands usually benefit from a first-mover advantage when it comes to new platforms. Less competition means more saliency and even less investments needed,” he said.

Adapting to evolving e-commerce 

As consumer behaviour moves alongside the dynamic landscape of e-commerce marketing, Cruz mentions that e-commerce marketing strategies should always be based on consumer and shopper behaviour.

“From platform availability, assortment, pricing, content and promos, all these should always be based on the consumer,” stated Cruz.

In order to achieve this, Cruz shared that a robust end-to-end omnichannel approach should be present to understand the interplay of offline and online consumer behaviour.

Talking about how this should be applied, Cruz mentioned, “Online and offline strategies should be integrated, never on silo. The occurrence of browsing online and checking out offline (and vice-versa) is more and more apparent post-pandemic.”

This approach leads to an easier understanding of customer behaviour, wants and interests, which means that brands can seamlessly pivot and tailor-fit messaging, communication, promos and recommendations. To enhance this, Cruz said that customer data should be maximised to increase basket size or assortment, improve repeat purchases and overall build loyalty with customers.

“AI makes it even easier for brands to do so, and even if we’re not yet that deep into utilising advanced AI, we still use data to get insights and refine our activities to optimise our investments,” he added. 

The future of e-commerce in F&B

When asked about his insights for the future of e-commerce marketing in the F&B industry, Cruz commented on the prominence of social commerce as one of the biggest trends in F&B at the moment. 

As a rapidly growing branch of e-commerce that uses social networks and digital media to facilitate transactions, social commerce allows for businesses and brands to increase their reach even further, and reach out more to younger or emerging consumers.

“However, as more and more brands get onboarded on this platform, competition will become even tighter, with brands fighting neck and neck on live platforms and on their promos,” he added.

Furthermore, Cruz also mentioned that there will be a more seamless omnichannel approach that brands and businesses need to employ as e-commerce platforms provide not just online sales but influence offline decisions and pre-purchase.

“Brands within the F&B industry need to be in-tune for what’s next to come in terms of e-commerce marketing strategies, as e-commerce platforms are becoming not just a point-of-sale but more so a channel for brand and product discovery that affects purchase decisions offline,” Cruz concluded.

MARKETECH APAC is leading the conversation on the future of e-commerce marketing strategies this 2024 and beyond with the E-Commerce Marketing in Malaysia 2024 conference on July 25, 2024 at Sheraton Petaling Jaya and the E-Commerce Marketing in the Philippines 2024 conference on August 14, 2024 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria. Join us and become an integral part of a dynamic community committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and fostering unparalleled growth in the e-commerce domain.

Manila, Philippines – Global digital payments company Visa has launched its latest resource offerings to assist Filipino merchants, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

Taking full advantage of Visa’s digital payment solutions, this online toolkit aims to optimise the customer shopping experience and increase sales, particularly in the Philippine tourism sector.

This is part of Visa’s commitment to empower Filipino SMEs and boost tourism, a crucial growth sector for the economy, by helping more merchants offer seamless contactless payments.

The SME online toolkit offers merchants detailed, step-by-step instructions in English, including a script for cashiers on how to initiate and complete digital payment transactions.

The toolkit describes how most Visa cards have the contactless feature as identified by the symbol and includes instructions on how customers can tap the terminal with their card themselves to make payments.

Additionally, this toolkit offering from Visa comes alongside its other efforts to promote tourism in the Philippines, with its participation in the Philippine Department of Tourism’s tourism summit as a panel, as well as a partnership with the Pacific Association of Tourism (PATA) wherein Visa led a workshop trained tourism SMEs on financial, risk management, digital skills, and highlighting digital payments preferred by tourists.

Talking about this initiative, Jeff Navarro, country manager for Visa Philippines, said, “Visa is committed to empowering businesses with the latest payment technologies and enabling contactless payments to support the growth of tourism in the Philippines. With Visa’s new SME online toolkit, we hope to facilitate the widespread adoption of digital payments among SMEs, addressing the needs of the travel ecosystem and aligning with the preferences of today’s travellers.”

Manila, Philippines – The Manila Times (TMT), in partnership with Cedara, the carbon intelligence platform, has launched a project to completely measure advertising carbon emissions. TMT will use Cedara, the provider of emissions mapping across the media supply chain, to measure and minimise its carbon footprint in accordance with industry standards. 

TMT intends to measure its digital media first, then move on to measure its print business and, in the long run, look into organisational emissions as a whole. 

Speaking about the partnership, Dante Ang II, chairman and chief executive officer of The Manila Times, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Cedara in our mission to lead the way as the first publisher in our geographic region to measure advertising carbon emissions. By harnessing Cedara’s expertise and leading technology, we are taking proactive steps towards environmental sustainability and reinforcing our commitment to corporate social responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Eric Shih, chief operating officer of Cedara, expressed, “We are delighted to collaborate with The Manila Times in their pioneering initiative to measure advertising carbon emissions. At Cedara, we are committed to partnering with media organisations that prioritise sustainability and environmental impact. Together with The Manila Times, we are proud to drive positive change in the APAC market and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.”

Manila, Philippines – ShopBack, an online shopping and rewards platform in the Asia-Pacific and the Philippines, is kicking off its 10th birthday with a series of activities this June, as well as deals dedicated to its over 6.5 million users and partnerships in the Philippines with more than 900 merchants.

Kicking off the birthday with a money rain 

ShopBack Philippines launched its 10th birthday celebration with a “cashback rain” activation on June 1. In partnership with Ayala Malls Manila Bay, users experienced over ₱50,000 worth of cashback literally raining down on them. Hundreds of mall-goers were rewarded with cashback, which was eventually credited to their accounts.

Month long deals and prizes 

ShopBack’s 10th Birthday campaign runs throughout the entire month, beginning with the 6.6 Mid-Year Sale and leading up to the main birthday celebration from June 14-22. During this period, each category—travel, fashion, food, and marketplaces—will feature special highlight deals.

The top prize for users is a chance to win 24K gold, simply by making three transactions across three different categories. Additionally, a month-long rewards page will feature exclusive vouchers and challenges, enabling users to earn instant cashback through easy actions.

Some of those top deals include exclusive voucher drops from Lazada, as well as deals from Nike, Zalora, Klook, and Puma. Moreover, several partner brands are also on board to give exciting perks to ShopBack users including KFC, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Havaianas, SEAOIL, and INSPI.

Timothy Tuason, commercial director for Philippines at ShopBack said, “This campaign is our way of thanking our loyal users for their years of support. We’ve worked hard to secure the best deals, making this birthday celebration truly rewarding for them. We hope they are excited!”

10 years of creating a rewarding experience for users 

ShopBack’s vision is to be the most rewarding way to shop. By offering cashback on every transaction, users can enjoy significant savings, allowing them to shop even more.

Justine Victoria discovered ShopBack in 2022, initially creating an account while in Singapore and then another upon returning to the Philippines. “I was able to withdraw ₱500,000 and bought two Vespa motorcycles,” she says.

MJ Aoki, another ShopBack user, utilises the platform for travel bookings. “If you’re going to make a purchase, you might as well get some money back,” she says. MJ has accumulated over ₱58,000 in cashback from her transactions.

Founded in 2014, ShopBack is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, marking a decade of success across the region. With a presence in over 12 countries, ShopBack serves more than 45 million users across three continents.

Bangkok, Thailand – Traveloka has established a strategic agreement with Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) to bring more Thai and Southeast Asian travellers to the Philippines. This cooperation will create an application programming interface that will allow inbound travellers to explore CEB flights using the Traveloka app. 

This initiative is expected to positively contribute to the growth of Philippine tourism by making it easier for Thai and Southeast Asian tourists to explore the country’s exciting destinations. It is in line with Traveloka’s commitment to helping the tourism industry in Southeast Asia recover from the pandemic. 

The tourist industry in the Philippines continues to develop every year. Over 5.4 million foreign visitors were registered by the Philippine Department of Tourism in 2023, and 7.7 million are anticipated by 2024. 

In the meantime, compared to the prior year, Traveloka saw a 2.5-fold rise in searches for the top five airports in the Philippines in 2024. Traveloka’s top five travel destinations in the Philippines are Manila, Laguindingan, Cebu, Davao, Boracay, and Palawan. 

Speaking about the partnership, Iko Putera, CEO of Transport Traveloka, said, “Traveloka understands the Philippines’ vast potential for sustainable tourism growth. Therefore, we invite travellers from Thailand and Southeast Asia to discover new experiences in the Philippines. Our partnership with Cebu Pacific, one of the premier and most affordable airlines for the Philippines, will provide diverse possibilities for travellers and spearhead innovation to deliver optimal solutions for customers. We will also contribute to growth within the tourism industry in the Philippines and the wider region.”

Meanwhile, Xander Lao, president and chief commercial officer of Cebu Pacific, expressed, “We are delighted to collaborate with Traveloka to support the local tourism industry and make travelling to the Philippines much easier. The Philippines is home to some of the world’s best beaches, stunning landscapes, and rich cultural heritage. We encourage travellers from all over the world to fly with Cebu Pacific and experience the beauty of our country, now made more accessible through our partnership with Traveloka.”

Philippines – McDonald’s Philippines has launched “Ride the Arches,” a pedal-powered project that will turn McDonald’s outlets into cycling refuelling stops. The movement started when McDonald’s observed that more and more of its 700+ locations in the Philippines were turning into bikers’ favourite places to stop.

In 2021, the firm started investing in Bike & Dine infrastructure as a response to McDonald’s Philippines innovation. Bike & Dine amenities include integrated bike racks, dining ledges, bicycle-safe “Ride-Thrus,” and stations for repairing and charging e-bikes.

In a nation where four people own bicycles for every car, these facilities contribute to the lack of infrastructure that is bike-friendly. It can be difficult for cyclists to find secure locations for repairs, maintenance, and breaks, especially for e-bikes. 

McDonald’s then challenged Leo Burnett Manila to urge the nation to cycle by making McDonald’s establishments mandatory stops on any bike route. With stores in scenic locations such as Tagaytay, which offers views of Taal Volcano, Boracay, known for its white-sand beaches, and Intramuros, a historic walled city in Manila, Leo Burnett Manila launched “Ride the Arches.” This program encourages cyclists to visit some of the world’s best-known McDonald’s restaurants, particularly those equipped with Bike & Dine facilities. 

To launch “Ride the Arches,” McDonald’s challenged cycling organisations around the country to create routes that loop from arch to arch, with McDonald’s serving as both the beginning and finishing point. Additionally, the company enlisted cycling influencers to build and share their routes, which were then promoted on major cycling applications such as Strava and Komoot. 

McDonald’s organised a number of #TourDeMcDo bike rides for the community. Free food, special meals for cyclists, and merchandise for those who shared pictures or rode the most kilometres served as the fuel for these tours. 

With more than 100 routes and 51,000 kilometres of riding completed thus far, “Ride the Arches” plans to work with cycling organisations in cities that have McDonald’s Bike & Dine locations through 2024. The initiative will promote bicycle safety by planning and funding rides. In an effort to position McDonald’s restaurants as refuelling stations for riding communities—a place to rest, enjoy bike repair services, and eat their favourite McDonald’s foods—events are scheduled for World Bike Day on June 3 and National Bicycle Month in November.

Speaking about the campaign, Kenneth S. Yang, CEO and president of McDonald’s Philippines, said, “McDonald’s launched Bike & Dine facilities during the pandemic after seeing a surge in bike usage across the country. We saw an opportunity to improve the customer experience for our two-wheeled customers, and be an advocate for sustainable mobility— encouraging more customers to ride.” 

Meanwhile, Raoul Panes, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Group Manila and Publicis Groupe Philippines, stated, “We loved the idea of using McDonald’s scale, infrastructure and operations to support a vast community of bike enthusiasts, adding value with rewards, and creating an always-growing network of routes that lead across our stunning country. By incentivising cyclists to ‘Ride the Arches’, McDonald’s has become the gateway to discovering some of the most beautiful places in the Philippines.”

Philippines – Mastercard launched a charitable partnership with the technology firm Boost Capital aimed at providing access to digital financial services for over 10,000 small enterprises in the Philippines, notably those run by women. This new alliance, backed by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, will use technology to help Filipino small businesses gain access to money, knowledge, and resources.

The initiative expands on a previous collaboration between the two groups in Cambodia and shows how improved financial literacy and digital onboarding channels may reduce risks and improve lending to small firms. In order to empower financial service providers to improve access to digital financial services by improving merchant onboarding procedures and providing financial literacy training to their small business clientele, this program in the Philippines will draw lessons and experiences from Cambodia. 

Small businesses are easily integrated using channels like Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp—channels that are already popular by Filipino entrepreneurs—by means of Boost Capital’s white-labelled technology platform. The company’s chat-based technology, enhanced with AI capabilities, allows service providers to digitally onboard a greater number of small business clients. 

Once on board, small businesses can then access financial services anytime, anywhere, from their cell phones. Everything about the process is automated, from choosing the goods to contracting, disbursing, and using AI for verification. 

Boost Capital will collaborate with Philippine financial service providers with funding from Mastercard Strive, a project managed by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Their goal is to use technology to bring more women who own small businesses into the official financial system and provide them with specialised services to grow and support their businesses. 

In addition to increasing access to financial services, the program will help small business owners strengthen their long-term financial security. This will be accomplished by integrating chat-based financial education into their financial services journey in a seamless manner. Prior research conducted in Cambodia demonstrated that small enterprises that received financial education had an 8 percent higher likelihood of making loan repayments on schedule. 

More than a million micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in the Philippines have benefited from Mastercard’s efforts. By 2025, Mastercard aims to bring 50 million small and micro companies and 1 billion individuals into the digital economy on a global scale. As part of this program, since 2020, the organisation has helped 27 million women entrepreneurs grow their businesses by providing solutions. 

Speaking about the partnership, Shamina Singh, founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said, “The results from our partnership in Cambodia clearly demonstrated the value that pairing credit with capacity building can have on unlocking capital for underserved small businesses. By building on that work, our aim is to empower more small businesses in the Philippines and facilitate their transition to the digital economy.” 

Meanwhile, Lucinda Revell, co-founder of Boost Capital, expressed, “We are excited to be working with Mastercard Strive to unlock and expand credit for Filipino small businesses. This new grant will extend our technology to a wider set of partners and de-risk its adoption by smaller financial service providers, who might otherwise be hesitant to go digital. Encouraging them to explore new client onboarding channels will unlock access to a wealth of digital financial services to support small business growth.” 

Lastly, Simon Calasanz, country manager for the Philippines, Mastercard, stated, “Micro and small businesses are vital engines of economic growth across the world, including in the Philippines. By fostering digital inclusion – one of the country’s strategic development priorities – this partnership with Boost Capital will provide much-needed support to Filipino small businesses and empower them to thrive. Further, by focusing on women-led enterprises, this partnership can help address the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, enabling them to unlock their full potential.” 

He added, “This latest collaboration deepens Mastercard’s commitment to the Philippines, driving social impact in a locally relevant way, while supporting the country’s efforts to digitizing and growing small businesses, and advancing inclusive growth.” 

Manila, Philippines – Chinabank has launched a brand refresh effort, as well as a digital campaign, to evolve the bank’s brand and image after 103 years. The goal is to make it more resonant and engaging for a new generation of clients. 

As part of a continuous introduction, the bank changed the signs at its headquarters and branch locations. It also made its brand-new jingle and advertisement, “Focused on You,” available on social media. Strategically positioned billboards at SM MOA Globe and EDSA-Magallanes showcased the brand’s first ambassador, Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, who also happens to be a third-generation descendant of Chinabank’s founder family. 

Chinabank’s reputation as a financial institution that understands its customers’ needs in a dynamic environment. This is reinforced by the brand refresh campaign. ‘Focused on You,’ the bank’s new tagline, reflects its steadfast commitment to serving and putting its clients’ needs first. Its new jingle and online campaign both reflect this idea. 

With its ‘CBC’ monogram, the new logo represents simplicity and stability while giving Chinabank an impression of freshness, agility, and vibrancy. Advertising companies Yonder and TBWA had been appointed to design the new logo and creative aspects for the bank.

Aileen Vallesteros noted that the bank’s chairman, Hans Sy, and president & CEO, Romy Uyan, had a crucial role in everything from choosing the brand ambassador to creating the messaging and design.

Speaking about the brand’s revamp, Gerald Florentino, corporate relations group head at Chinabank, said, “Chinabank has been growing and transforming through the years, in step with the times and more importantly, in line with the changing needs and perceptions of our customers. We believe this brand refresh will develop the Chinabank brand in the right way and enable us to deepen existing relationships and connect with a broader market.” 

Meanwhile, Aileen Vallesteros, marketing communications department head at Chinabank, commented, “How you take the brand forward is vital to any company’s future success. Even if you’re already well established, you have to find fresh approaches to re-engage your loyal customers and build connections with new ones. Our ‘Focused on You’ campaign reinforces the brand’s strengths and makes Chinabank more relatable to the new generation of customers.”