Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) eyes to increase the users of its e-wallet Vybe to 2.5 million from the current 1.8 million as it diversifies its services and offerings and targets non-BPI clients.
The company in a statement on Tuesday said it is partnering with Electronic Commerce Payments Inc. (ECPay), allowing Vybe users to top up their e-wallets through the 1,300 ECPay kiosks nationwide with zero convenience fees.
BPI said it targets to tap low middle-income and mass market segments of the economy.
The existing clients cover the upper middle-income market and above, who are mostly BPI clients.
BPI said cash-ins will also soon be available at over 4,000 partner stores, including supermarkets, pawnshops, gasoline stations and sari-sari stores.
“By partnering with ECPay, Vybe can further its mission of offering a free and secure financial tool to a broader audience. The expanded partnership makes it easier for more people to cash in to their Vybe wallets, even without a BPI account,” the bank said.
“With ECPay’s wide network of over 4,000 partner outlets, Vybe can reach more users in both cities and provinces, helping them join the digital economy. This development also helps bridge the gap for those who lack access to traditional banking,” it added.
Frederic Faustino, BPI digital channels group head for digital partnerships and ecosystems, said the partnership with ECPay is a “significant step in making Vybe more accessible to Filipinos nationwide.”
“We are excited to offer users an easy and convenient way to top up their e-wallets and engage with the digital financial ecosystem, helping to drive financial inclusion in the Philippines,” he said.
Faustino said Vybe serves as a vehicle for BPI to reach out to more Filipinos, “targeting around 50 million clients for BPI as a whole.”
“With this partnership, we see it expanding to even greater length. Especially with the partnership with EasyPay because with this partnership, we are practically opening up more touchpoints for our live users to put money into their daily wallet. Now, we’re targeting every Filipino, so long as they have smartphones,” he said.
Patricia Pascual, ECPay president and chief executive officer, said Vybe users can take advantage of ECPay’s 1,300 kiosks around the country, with the company looking to add 500 more this year.
“We have them in select PureGold stores, select Alfamart, Lawson, convenience stores, and then in the malls and in the far-flung areas as well. We have standalone machines in some carinderias and local supermarkets in the provinces,” Pascual said.
“We are planning to add about 500 more this year. And we are supposed to complete some of the deployments in several convenience stores as well for the remainder of the year,” she added.
According to Pascual, the partnership will improve the company’s daily gross transaction volume of around P2.1 billion or P63 billion per month, whose primary focus is on providing back-end services to businesses.
Over the past five years, ECPay has tripled the transactions it handles on a daily basis and aims to grow in double-digit every year, said Pascual.
