PLDT provides free net access to banks, fintech

THE FREE mobile data platform of PLDT Group’s Voyager Innovations has tapped more partners in the financial services sector as it seeks to reach a broader audience.

PLDT said in a statement the platform dubbed Freenet widened its footprint in the industry as it partnered with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), as well as financial technology (fintech) startups like Lendr, PawnHero and PayMaya.

This means users of the platform are now able to access various financial services and complete their transactions online or via the banks’ mobile apps without incurring mobile data charges.

“Digital and financial inclusion is at the core of our mission at Voyager, and we are glad to extend these services to as many Filipinos as possible through Freenet,” Benjie Fernandez, chief operating officer at Voyager Innovations, said in the statement.

“By partnering with enterprises for sponsored data and giving customers free access to these financial and banking services, we are enabling our countrymen to participate in the new digital economy that can truly profoundly improve their lives,” he added.

PLDT said this would move forward the country’s goal for financial inclusion since just 30 percent of Filipinos have regular access to the internet. Seven in 10 adult individuals belonged to the “unbanked” sector of society, the company also noted.

It also cited the 2016 Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion report published this July, which showed the Philippines emerging as the most improved nation in the world in terms of providing wider access to digital and financial services.

PLDT said fintech players were enabling wider access to digital financial services by providing their customers with free data access to their websites and apps via Freenet.

A big push in this direction is PayMaya, a downloadable mobile app that allows consumers to shop online even without a credit card.

The PayMaya app generates an instant, ready-to-use virtual prepaid card that can be reloaded in over 15,000 centers nationwide.

“Freenet adds a better customer experience dimension to these online banking and digital financial apps by removing the first barrier to enjoying a digital life, which is internet access,” Heidi Garayblas, business unit head for Freenet at Voyager Innovations, added.