Wallets/paymaya
paymaya
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Overview
Maya (formerly PayMaya) is a Philippine financial-services brand offering digital payments, banking, crypto, and lending under one mobile app. It is operated by Voyager Innovations, Inc., a PLDT-controlled holding company, through two BSP-regulated subsidiaries:
- Maya Philippines, Inc. (MPi) — end-to-end digital payments (wallet, business, remittance)
- Maya Bank, Inc. (MBi) — digital banking (savings, loans, credit cards)
Maya is the second-largest e-wallet in the Philippines by registered users, behind GCash (Mynt / Globe) [1]. As of mid-2025, Maya had over 60 million registered users across its platforms [1], while Maya Bank reported PHP 25 billion in deposits from 2.3 million clients as of August 2023, making it the largest digital bank in the country by deposit share (61 %) [1].
Maya uses QR Ph — the Philippines' national unified QR standard — for both P2P and P2M payments, making it interoperable with all participating banks and e-wallets [1, 2].
Key facts
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Former name | PayMaya (2016–2022), Smart Money (2000–2016) |
| Parent | Voyager Innovations, Inc. (PLDT-controlled) |
| Chairman | Manny V. Pangilinan |
| CEO | Orlando Vea (Maya Group) |
| HQ | Mandaluyong, Metro Manila |
| Registered users | 60M+ (2025 estimate) |
| QR standard | QR Ph (EMVCo MPM) |
| Banking partner cards | Mastercard (Maya debit), Visa (online checkout) |
| Valuation | ~USD 1.4 billion (April 2022 Series C) |
History
Smart Money (2000–2016)
The ancestry of Maya dates to December 2000 when Smart Communications (PLDT's mobile subsidiary) launched Smart Money in cooperation with 1st e-Bank (formerly PDCP Bank; now merged into BDO Unibank) and Mastercard [2]. It was billed as the world's first card-linked wireless phone payment system at the time [2].
PayMaya era (2016–2022)
In January 2016, the service was rebranded as PayMaya and by Q1 2016 had processed USD 1 billion in cumulative transactions [3]. The rebrand was part of a broader strategy to separate the wallet from Smart Communications and operate it under Voyager Innovation, Inc. — a PLDT subsidiary spun off to manage fintech assets [4].
Over the PayMaya years, the platform grew steadily:
- 2018 — 33 million registered users [4]
- December 2020 — 40 million registered users [4]
- December 2021 — 44 million registered users [4]
The PayMaya brand earned recognition during this period:
- 2021 Payment Association Awards — Leading Emerging Payments Organization Award + Most Innovative Mobile/Financial Service [4]
- 2021 Future Enterprise Awards (IDC) — Best in Future of Digital Innovations (PayMaya Negosyo) and Best in Future of Intelligence (in-app KYC) [4]
- 2021 Future Digital Awards for Fintech & Payments (Juniper Research) — Best QR Payment [4]
- 2021 LinkedIn Talent Awards — Best Talent Acquisition Team [4]
Maya era (2022–present)
In April 2022, PLDT (which controlled majority ownership of Voyager Innovations) announced that PayMaya would be rebranded as Maya, coinciding with the launch of Maya Bank — a fully-fledged digital bank affiliate [5]. The rebranding took effect on May 2, 2022 [6].
Maya Bank, Inc. (MBi) was incorporated in 2021 and received its BSP license to operate as a universal/digital bank [7]. Maya Savings launched in early 2022 with an introductory 6 % p.a. interest rate for early-bird registrants, later settling at 4.5 % p.a. [8]. In October 2022, MBi announced 1 million registered customers and PHP 10 billion in deposits within five months of launch [9]. By August 2023, Maya Bank reported PHP 25 billion in deposits from 2.3 million clients — making it the #1 digital bank in the Philippines by deposit share (61 %) and depositor share (71 %) [9].
Funding and valuation:
- April 2022 — Voyager Innovations raised USD 210 million in a Series C round led by SIG Venture Capital (SIG's Asian arm), with participation from EDBI (Singapore), First Pacific, and existing shareholders PLDT, KKR, Tencent, and IFC [4]. This put Voyager's valuation at approximately USD 1.4 billion (unicorn-plus) [4].
Product evolution:
- Maya Wallet — core P2P/P2M payments, bills payment, load purchase, crypto trading
- Maya Business (formerly PayMaya Enterprise) — merchant acquiring and business banking
- Maya Center (formerly Smart Padala) — network of 55,000+ agent touchpoints for last-mile financial access
- Maya Savings — retail savings via Maya Bank (4.5 % p.a.)
- Maya Loans — Pay in 4 (BNPL), Flexi Loan, Personal Loan; PHP 10B+ lent between April 2022–June 2023
- Maya Crypto — buy/sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Uniswap
- Maya Cards — Mastercard debit (physical + virtual), Visa for online checkout
- Maya Black (credit card) — premium co-branded credit card via Maya Bank
- Maya Funds — mutual fund investments
- Maya Stocks — stock brokerage (philtstock integration)
- Maya Insurance — e-commerce buyer protection, personal health, device insurance
- BeetzePlay (January 2025) — exclusive streaming network for short-form vertical dramas
In 2022, Maya was selected by CB Insights as one of the Fintech 250 — only the second Philippine fintech to enter the list alongside Tonik [4]. In 2023, the Maya app was named among the world's most innovative apps for digital life at the Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona [4]. Maya Bank was named Best Digital Bank for Southeast Asia at the World Digital Bank (WDB) Awards 2023 and ranked 8th globally by The Digital Banker [4]. Maya was ranked by Forbes among the World's Best Banks in both 2023 and 2024 [4].
Technical features
Account structure and tiers
Maya operates a multi-tier KYC account system under BSP's e-money issuer framework [10]:
| Tier | Monthly wallet limit | Key capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | PHP 50,000 | Scan QR to pay, send/receive, buy load, OTC cash-in, BancNet ATM withdrawals, free buyer insurance (PHP 8K claim) |
| Upgraded | PHP 100,000 | All Basic + higher send/transfer limits, video KYC + valid ID + verified address |
| Super | PHP 500,000 | Unlimited purchase amount, ATM 60x/day, send PHP 500K/day, bank transfer PHP 500K/month |
| Ultimate | PHP 5,000,000 | Unlimited everything, PHP 5M daily send/purchase/ATM |
Requirements for upgrading: video selfie, valid ID, verified address, and verified personal information [10].
QR Ph integration
Maya is a full participant in QR Ph, supporting both variants:
- QR Ph P2P — person-to-person transfers via InstaPay rails
- QR Ph P2M — person-to-merchant payments using the red-blue-yellow QR Ph logo
Maya's QR Ph integration means a Maya user can scan any QR Ph code from any participating institution (GCash, BDO, BPI, UnionBank, etc.) and vice versa [2]. QR Ph is EMVCo MPM-compliant with the Philippine-specific merchant account information template [2].
Payment rails
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| QR payments | QR Ph (EMVCo MPM TLV) — both P2P and P2M |
| Bank transfers | InstaPay (real-time, PHP 50K per transaction, 24/7) + PESONet (batch, higher limits) |
| Card network | Mastercard (debit, physical + virtual), Visa (online checkout) |
| Crypto | Buy/sell BTC, ETH, ADA, UNI in-app |
| Remittance | Western Union partner via Maya Center (55,000+ agents); OFW remittances |
| Cash-in | Card-based (Mastercard/Visa via Maya app), bank transfer, OTC partners (BPI, Metrobank, etc.), non-bank partners (PHP 50K/txn) |
| Cash-out | BancNet ATM withdrawals, bank transfer |
Cards
- Mastercard debit card (physical and virtual) — powered by Maya Philippines, Inc. for wallet transactions
- Visa card for online checkout at e-commerce partners
- Maya Black — premium credit card issued by Maya Bank, Inc.
Business features
- Maya Business (formerly PayMaya Enterprise) — merchant onboarding, QR Ph acceptance, payroll management
- Enterprise deposit and working capital loans for MSMEs
- Corporate credit products for employees of large corporate clients
QR format
Maya uses QR Ph for all QR-code payments, which is the Philippines' national unified QR standard:
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard | QR Ph (BSP Circular 1055, October 2019) |
| EMVCo alignment | MPM (Merchant-Presented Mode) TLV format |
| Underlying rail | InstaPay (real-time) |
| Transaction limit | PHP 50,000 per transaction (InstaPay limit) |
| Operators | All banks + e-wallets (BDO, BPI, UnionBank, GCash, Maya, etc.) |
| Logo | Red-blue-yellow (Philippine flag colours) for P2M; InstaPay logo for P2P |
| Symbology | QR Code (ISO/IEC 18004) |
| Payload | EMVCo MPM TLV with Philippine merchant account information template + CRC-16 |
Maya's QR Ph implementation is identical in payload structure to other QR Ph participants — the distinction is purely at the issuer/merchant-account level. This ensures full interoperability: a Maya user scanning a GCash QR or a BPI merchant QR produces the same EMVCo MPM payload format as any other QR Ph participant [2].
See the dedicated QR Ph standard page for full technical specification.
Deployment
Consumer base
- 60M+ registered users (2025 estimate; Maya reached 50M by June 2022) [4]
- Maya is the second-largest e-wallet in the Philippines after GCash (60M+ users) [1]
- 2.3 million Maya Bank savings clients (August 2023)
- 55,000+ Maya Center agent touchpoints nationwide — the largest agent network for last-mile financial access [1]
Merchant adoption
- Maya Business onboards merchants for QR Ph acceptance
- Maya's QR Ph codes accepted at millions of retail locations nationwide
- Partners with major e-commerce platforms for online checkout
- HitPay and other PSPs offer QR Ph via Maya Business integration [2]
International partnerships
- Mastercard — co-branded debit card
- Visa — online checkout integration
- Western Union — remittance via Maya Center
- Tencent — investor (via Voyager Innovations Series C)
- IFC (World Bank Group) — investor
Government and regulatory
- Maya is a fintech partner in government disbursement programmes
- OFW remittance programmes utilise Maya's platform
- BSP Digital Payments Target beneficiary
Regulatory
Maya operates under a dual-regulation model under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP):
-
Maya Philippines, Inc. (MPi) — regulated as an e-money issuer under BSP regulations on electronic money. MPi holds the BSP license to issue e-wallet accounts, process payments, and operate as a payment service provider.
-
Maya Bank, Inc. (MBi) — regulated as a digital bank under BSP's regulatory framework for universal/commercial banks. MBi received its BSP license in 2021–2022 and offers deposit-taking, lending, and credit card services.
Key regulatory frameworks:
- BSP National Retail Payment System (NRPS) Framework — under which QR Ph was established
- BSP Circular 1055 (October 2019) — QR Ph establishment
- BSP Anti-Money Laundering Act compliance — AMLA requirements for KYC, transaction monitoring, and suspicious-activity reporting
- BSP data privacy and cybersecurity requirements for digital banks and e-money issuers
- National Privacy Commission — Maya won Privacy Initiative of the Year (#FraudPatrol campaign) and Privacy Management of the Year (Maya Bank) at the 2022 Privacy Awareness Week Awards [4]
Account limits are set by BSP regulations on e-money issuers, with tiered KYC requirements (Basic → Upgraded → Super → Ultimate) that scale wallet balances and transaction limits accordingly [10].
Comparison
vs. GCash (Mynt / Globe)
| Attribute | Maya (PayMaya) | GCash (Mynt) |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | Voyager Innovations (PLDT) | Mynt (Globe/Tencent/SoftBank) |
| Users | 60M+ | 60M+ |
| Bank affiliate | Maya Bank, Inc. (digital bank) | GCash Savings (via partner banks) |
| QR standard | QR Ph | QR Ph |
| Crypto | Yes (BTC, ETH, ADA, UNI) | Yes (GCrypto) |
| Cards | Mastercard + Visa | GCash Mastercard |
| Agent network | 55,000+ Maya Centers | GCash 24/7, partner stores |
| Valuation | ~USD 1.4B (2022) | ~USD 5B+ (reported, 2025) |
GCash holds a structural advantage through its bundling with Globe Telecom, which subsidises customer acquisition. Maya's advantage lies in its dual-entity structure (separate bank + payments company) and broader enterprise product range (Maya Business, Maya Center agent network).
vs. other ASEAN e-wallets
Maya follows the dual-ecosystem model (wallet + digital bank) pioneered by Indonesia's GoPay/Gojek and seen in Malaysia's Touch 'n Go. Its crypto integration (buy/sell within the wallet) aligns it with regional peers like TrueMoney (Thailand) and Touch 'n Go (Malaysia). The 55,000-agent network (formerly Smart Padala) is unique among Philippine e-wallets and provides a physical distribution advantage over purely-digital competitors.
vs. bank digital channels
Maya competes with BDO Digital, BPI Mobile, UnionBank Online, and other bank-led digital channels. However, Maya's advantage is its e-wallet simplicity (no bank account required, instant onboarding via phone number) and its cross-bank interoperability via QR Ph — users don't need to be customers of a specific bank.
Status
Active, growing, expanding — Maya continues to grow its user base and product range:
- 60M+ registered users — stable second position behind GCash
- PHP 25B deposits at Maya Bank (August 2023) — #1 digital bank by deposit share
- QR Ph participant — full P2P + P2M interoperability
- CB Insights Fintech 250 — recognised among world's most promising fintechs
- Forbes World's Best Banks 2023 and 2024
- WDB Awards 2023 — Best Digital Bank for Southeast Asia
- Project Nexus — Philippines is a founding member; Maya will benefit from cross-border QR interoperability with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and India
Strategic outlook:
- Maya Bank continues to scale deposits and loan book
- Maya Center agent network expanding beyond Metro Manila
- Maya's dual-entity structure (payments + bank) positions it for regulatory changes in digital banking
- Cross-border expansion potential via Project Nexus and InstaPay-PayNow linkage
- Crypto trading integration may expand as BSP refines crypto regulation
- Competition with GCash intensifies as both platforms add banking, investments, and credit products
No deprecation planned. Maya is a core Philippine fintech platform with a clear multi-year growth trajectory.
Sources
Source
Biography extracted from paymaya.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.