New Citi service pushes digital payments

MANILA, Philippines — American banking giant Citi is ramping up its digitalization efforts with a new service as part of efforts to help the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to transform the Philippines to a cash-lite instead of cash-heavy economy.

Citi Philippines chief executive officer Ahtab Ahmed said in a press conference the bank continues to support the financial inclusion efforts of the government as well as the central bank.

“We are very much solid in supporting the central bank and the government in its inclusion and digitalization efforts. And we are very much committed to achieving the 20, 30, 40, 50 percent number in the coming years,” Ahmed said.

By 2023, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno is confident half of total transactions in terms of volume and value would be digital in nature.

Latest survey conducted by the United Nation’s Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) showed the share of digital payments increased to 10 percent in 2018 from one percent in 2013 in terms of volume and to 20 percent from eight percent in terms of value.

“We believe strongly in innovation and we are very customer-centric in everything we do. We have made many strides when it comes to digitalization, we’ve made many strides when it comes to automation, we’ve made many strides when it comes to delivering innovation to the market place,” Ahmed said.

Citi Philippines consumer banking head Manoj Varma said the first-of-its-kind Citi PayAll allows credit cardholders to pay for big transactions usually paid for via check or cash through their mobile phones

Varma said the innovation also gives clients more autonomy and flexibility in payment options and provides greater convenience in big rewards.

“We are continually developing new products and services based on our clients’ needs and wants. And what they want is convenience and speed in their banking transactions. Citi PayAll is an innovation that is in line with our goal of providing remarkable client experiences day after day,” Varma said.

With Citi PayAll, Citi credit cardholders now have the means to pay for their rent, school fees, condominium dues, insurance policies and professional fees using their credit card via the Citi mobile app.

Citi PayAll also empowers credit cardholders to seamlessly use their credit card to make these payments directly to any local bank, a first in the digital finance landscape in the Philippines.

Customers have a maximum limit of P200,000 per transaction and will incur a per transaction fee of up to three percent. Citi credit cardholders can make up to six transactions a month with up to P1 million aggregate amount.