BIZ BUZZ: More airport fees coming?

The San Miguel group—Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (Naia) new caretaker—and the government are already drawing heavy flak after hiking parking fees on Oct. 1.

But this may just be the start.

New Naia Infrastructure Corp. general manager Angelito Alvarez told reporters on Thursday that they might introduce before the year ends a new fee to ease the flow of traffic at the crowded airport.

Alvarez said they were studying the possibility of imposing a penalty for vehicles overstaying along the terminal driveways to encourage quicker movement in and out of the airport.

San Miguel chief Ramon Ang earlier broached this idea because he observed that some family and friends picking up and dropping off their loved ones at the airport took a long time to move their cars, thus were causing traffic.

Should this new fee be approved, it will be implemented during the holiday season when passenger volume goes up—which also means more people waiting for their loved ones to arrive. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Maybank PH eyes digital banking license

Maybank Philippines is itching to join the digital banking scene.

During the launch of the new Maybank2u PH (M2U) mobile app last Wednesday, Patrick Dennis Solosa, OIC president and CEO, told Biz Buzz that the company is “seriously considering” getting one of the four new digital banking slots that will be up for grabs next year.

If the plan pushes through, Maybank—like other interested companies—has two options: either apply for a new digital banking permit or convert an existing bank’s license to that for virtual lenders.

Solosa said this is part of an ongoing discussion within Maybank as the company still weighs the pros and cons of getting a digital banking license. After all, virtual lenders must have no physical branches, although they may offer financial products and services through agents.

“If you go purely digital, then that means that we will have to lessen on the physical side. So I guess it will be really dependent on how receptive clients will be,” he said.

”So right now, our pulse has always been that the customer still needs physical branches—both for familiarity as well as security. So right now, we’re balancing that,” he added. —Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral