Global social enterprise Plastic Bank has tapped digital financial services provider PayMaya to build more sustainable communities in the Philippines with cashless technology.

Through Plastic Bank’s recycling ecosystem program, residents of partner communities can exchange plastic waste for rewards that they will receive through their PayMaya accounts. They can then use the incentives they receive in their PayMaya wallet for everyday transactions such as sending money, buying prepaid reloadable cards, paying bills, scanning to pay purchases via QR, and online purchases, among others.

The cashless project will initially be implemented at select Plastic Bank partner communities including Payatas in Quezon City, Barangay 105 in Manila, and Barangay San Felipe and Barangay Cararayan in Naga City.

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“As we provide a viable solution to the plastic waste problems in the Philippines, this initiative with PayMaya strengthens our recycling infrastructure for the benefit of our community collectors. PayMaya allows us to disburse plastic tokens in a safer and more convenient way. At the same time, we are empowering our partner communities with digital financial services,” said Gidget Velez, global director for Country Development at Plastic Bank.

Since its expansion to the Philippines in 2017, Plastic Bank has been able to establish and grow over 60 collection branches in eight major cities of Metro Manila. Plastic Bank utilizes a proprietary blockchain platform that secures the entire ecosystem transactions and provides real-time data visualization allowing for transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability for its collectors and partners.

“We are excited to help build these cashless ecosystems with Plastic Bank. This sustainable initiative will definitely help foster financial inclusion, create more economic opportunities, and increase environmental awareness in these communities,” said Shailesh Baidwan, president at PayMaya.

Contactless payments

To further strengthen its mission towards providing livelihood opportunities, Plastic Bank is also enabling sari-sari stores in partner communities with the PayMaya Negosyo app to provide safer contactless transactions through QR payment technology.

Sari-sari store owners can also utilize the PayMaya Negosyo app to augment their income through its other features such as accepting bills payments, selling mobile prepaid reloadable cards, processing remittances, among others.