Bills payment made less painful . . . and rewarding even

From left: Voyager Innovations vice president and managing director Dindo Marzan, PLDT and Smart SVP & head of consumer businessmarket development Oscar A. Reyes Jr., PLDT SVP and head of PLDT and Smart Enterprise Jovy Hernandez, PLDT and Smart CRO & ePLDT president and CEO Eric R. Alberto, PLDT and Smart chair & CEOManny V. Pangilinan, PLDT FVP and group head for loyalty and rewards Annette W. Tirol, PLDT SVP and head of consumer business customer development Alex Caeg and PayMaya head of business and Voyager Walt Steven Young Innovations VP for growth Raymund Villanueva.

To many consumers, paying bills is too cumbersome, a task they would rather not do. It is time consuming and not the most pleasant of chores, as they try to fit payment for all the essentials in limited budgets. Every month they see their money being depleted as quickly as they earn it.

They have to write checks, visit different websites, go to automated teller machines (ATMs), visit their bank’s nearest branch or a bayad (payment) center.

Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. is trying to ease the pain and make paying bills—and spending—more pleasant and even rewarding.

PLDT has launched its MVP (most valuable partner) Rewards card that will initially benefit clients and prepaid and postpaid subscribers of its mobile services Smart, TNT (Talk ’n’ Text) and Sun. Customers of the PLDT companies can enroll their accounts in one wallet, MVP Rewards.

Of course, “MVP” is also a play on the initials of Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT chair and CEO.

Of the new program, Pangilinan says: “We want to make the experience … (of paying bills) rewarding (by letting people) earn points,” especially if cashless payment is used. “We want people to go cashless through PayMaya.”

PayMaya is the mobile wallet service of Voyager Innovations, the digital innovations company of PLDT.

The rewards facility is expected to eventually include other companies outside PLDT, including dining and shopping establishments, Pangilinan says.

Eric Alberto, PLDT chief revenue officer, says the MVP Rewards card “is in a category all its own.”

He says it puts the best in the industry in just one program. “Customers are our most valuable partners and they deserve an innovative reward program.”

Annette W. Tirol, PLDT first vice president and group head for loyalty and rewards, says as MVP gets established and more companies join the program, using the PayMaya payment system will get even more rewarding for customers.

Consumers can enroll as many accounts as they want and earn points every time they settle their bills, she says. “The more you use your PayMaya, the more rewards you earn.”

She adds that with the MVP reward system, consumers may not have to carry all the other reward cards they have, which average three to five per consumer.

Dindo Marzan, managing director of Hatch, the digital customer engagement business unit of Voyager, assures consumers the new MVP program follows strictly rules and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, including those related to security.

Clients of the PLDT companies are rewarded through points earned when they pay bills on time and in full or reload their prepaid mobile phones. Points earned are consolidated in a single rewards wallet, which comes with a virtual card powered by PayMaya.

The reward points earned are reflected as cash in the PayMaya virtual card, which customers can use to pay future bills or to buy products and services from the PLDT companies.

Clients can now download the PayMaya app and activate their virtual cards. Until Feb. 28, they can also get a complementary MVP Rewards physical card that they can link to their wallet and use to swipe at point-of-sale terminals when they shop or dine in establishments in the Philippines or abroad.

As cash is being loaded directly to the PayMaya reward card, earned points will not expire and are redeemable anytime. Clients are given the freedom to choose when and where to use their rewards.

Tirol says MVP card users will also enjoy special promotional offers and discounts at various establishments nationwide by showing their virtual or physical MVP Reward card.

Each month, a members-only raffle will also be held where customers can win bill rebates that will be credited directly to the rewards wallet.