We’ve still got bills to pay, even during the lockdown. But how do we do it?
Several banks, like Banco de Oro (BDO) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), let their clients pay utility bills via their electronic banking facilities. Government agencies like Pag-IBIG also set up digital channels to let you apply for loans, receive benefits or pay for your transactions online.
Aside from these, there are also numerous applications that let you pay your electricity, water, cable and telephone company (telco) bills through your phone. Don’t wait for your bill’s due date before downloading any of these six phone applications.
Meralco
What you can pay: Meralco
What to use: Credit, debit and prepaid card
Using your service ID number, you can easily make a Meralco account through the company’s app. Aside from paying your electric bill, you can also view the amount you need to pay and its due date. If you plan on using the app to pay your bills on a long term basis, you can opt to switch to receiving your monthly bills online as well.
Paymaya
What you can pay: Meralco, Maynilad, Manila Water, Laguna Water, Cignal, Sky Cable, Destiny Cable and telco
What to use: Paymaya virtual wallet
Those who love shopping are probably familiar with Paymaya, which works as a virtual wallet that allows you to transfer money to and from other outlets such as your bank account.
Aside from these utilities, you can also pay for any transactions with Pag-IBIG, National Statistics Office (NSO) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) through the app.
Bayad Center
What you can pay: Meralco, Aboitiz Power, Maynilad, Manila Water, Laguna Water, Sky Cable, Cignal, Destiny Cable and telco
What to use: Credit and debit card, Paypal
A further advantage of the Bayad Center app is that it lets you pay bills in the country whether you’re here or abroad. This is a great feature for overseas Filipino workers who can just opt to directly pay their family’s utility bills in the country instead of having to send it as remittances.
Gcash
What you can pay: Meralco, Manila Water, Maynilad, Laguna Water, Sky Cable, Destiny Cable and telco
What to use: Gcash virtual wallet
Gcash has a lot of bills merchant partners both in the metro and in the provinces, including Davao Light, BENECO and Subic Water. It also lets you pay for government transactions like Pag-IBIG, Social Security System (SSS) and Bureau of Internal Revenue as well as some insurance companies like AXA Life and Ayala Life. Some schools like Ateneo and Miriam College also allow you to pay tuition via Gcash.
CLiQQ
What you can pay: Manila Water, Maynilad, Laguna Water, Cignal, Sky Cable and telco
What to use: Cash
Sounds familiar? CLiQQ is a payment facility by 7-Eleven and you often see its kiosks in the convenience store chain—but did you know that it has an app too? Aside from utilities, you can also pay for your credit card bills, government and insurance transactions and even airline fees (for when we can travel again.)
Unfortunately, it isn’t exactly a “fully online” service, because CLiQQ only enables you to register your transactions and get a generated barcode to present at 7-Eleven branches for faster transactions. However, this is convenient for those who don’t have credit, debit or prepaid cards to use online as it allows them to spend less time paying bills.
Coins.ph
What you can pay: Meralco, Manila Water, Maynilad, Laguna Water, Subic Water, Cignal, Sky Cable, Cablelink and telcos
What to use: Coins.ph virtual wallet
Unlike what most people probably know, Coins.ph isn’t just a local bitcoin and cryptocurrency platform. It also lets you pay over 80 bills merchants in the country, including utilities, credit cards and government agencies. Using a virtual wallet as well, Coins.ph even offers cashback for every unique bill that you pay.
Among the places where you can load up your Coins.ph wallet are 7-Eleven, Palawan Pawnshop and Cebuana Lhuiller.
Header photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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Writer: YANN MAGCAMIT
