Filipino consumers can now use buy now, pay later (BNPL) and card-free installment option to shop at more global brands online. This is after BillEase, one of the country’s top-rated consumer finance apps welcomed 2023 with a landmark partnership with Alipay+, a global cross-border digital payment and marketing solution.
Operated by Ant Group and launched in 2020, Alipay+ provides global cross-border mobile payment solutions which enable merchants, including small and medium-sized businesses, to better serve mobile-savvy consumers. To date, Alipay+ has reached over 2.5 million global online and offline merchants and helped them to unlock the consumption potential of over 1 billion e-wallet users. Alipay+’s online merchant network includes regional and global digital entertainment providers, lifestyle services, e-commerce platforms.
Since its launch in 2017, BillEase has now over 2,000 merchant partners such as Philippine Airlines, Power Mac Center, Anson’s, Vivo, Kimstore, and Focus Global Inc. among others. Merchant partners of BillEase can offer shoppers three card-free installment options at checkout: Pay Later in 10 or 20 days and Pay in 4 installments for small-to-medium ticket purchases, and Pay Monthly over three, six, nine, or 12 months for big purchases with interest rates between 0% or 3.49 percent. Aside from shopping, the BillEase app can be used for e-wallet top-ups, gaming credits, mobile load purchases, and bills payment.
BillEase is the first Philippine-based BNPL provider to partner with Alipay+. Through the collaboration, BillEase and Alipay+ aim to revolutionize the digital payment landscape through BillEase’s consumer credit solutions. Filipino shoppers with BillEase app can now leverage Alipay+ to complete online purchases at global merchants and pay in light and card-free installments via BillEase.
Jia Hang, General Manager of Alipay+ Global Partnerships, said: “BillEase brings inclusive financial services to the underbanked and underserved consumers in the Philippines. We are excited to reach this partnership to enable BillEase’s customers to enjoy seamless and convenient cross-border online payment services and enrich their daily lives through an expanded global shopping experience.”
“We look forward to working closely with Alipay+ to help BillEase expand its global online merchant coverage. This partnership is also a major boost for financial inclusion in the Philippines as it will make not only financial services more accessible to millions of Filipinos but also global online merchants reaching wider and more diverse customers like ours,” Georg Steiger, CEO & Co-Founder of BillEase.
Like in other Southeast Asian countries, an increasing number of consumers in the Philippines has turned to digital payment methods during the pandemic, which resulted in the increasing adoption of BNPL. According to Research and Markets, BNPL’s Gross Merchandise Value in the Philippines is expected to grow from USD 835 million in 2021 to USD 9.9 billion by 2028.
