EastWest, in partnership with Visa, launched a new tap-to-pay app on Thursday as demand for cashless and even cardless transactions continued to grow in the Philippines post-pandemic.

The EastWest Pay app allows users to link their EastWest VISA credit card to their Android smartphones so they don't need physical credit cards on hand when making purchases. 

They would simply have to tap their phone on a merchant’s Point of Sale (POS) terminal to pay.

During the launch event, EastWest CEO Jerry Ngo said the new app combines the benefits of a credit card and a contactless instrument like a mobile wallet. 

This is in light of a recent Visa study that showed 7 in 10 consumers prefer making payments with their mobile wallets instead of cards.

“Yung wallet, small amounts ‘yun. But in this case, people will go cashless, they will go contactless, but would benefit still from the ability to charge to a credit account. And more importantly, the benefits of the points,” he said. 

The lender said the app would also be made available to debit cardholders or its deposit clients in about three to four months.

It also assured customers that several mechanisms were in place to prevent fraud, such as the use of biometrics and a method called tokenization.

“You don’t want anyone knowing your card number so what it does is it’s tokenized. It uses a different number whenever you transact and that number, no one can reuse it,” explained EastWest Credit Cards Business Head Aylwin Herminia Tamayo.

Apart from consumers, EastWest said the new technology would also benefit businesses as it speeds up transaction processing.

“With QR, you have to scan the QR code, enter the payment amount. With NFC, you do not have to do any of that. So from the point of view of the business owner, he will be able to process and satisfy more customers”, said EastWest Consumer Business Systems Head Efren Dela Cruz, Jr.

Ngo said he believed fintech innovations like EastWest Pay would play a big part in supporting the Philippines’ economic growth.

“One of the roles of banks in a country like the Philippines is to provide credit kasi that’s how you spur consumption. If you look at our GDP and our economy and you break it up, a lot of that is consumption driven,” he said.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/07/28/23/new-eastwest-bank-app-allows-users-to-do-away-with-physical-credit-cards