BPI sets eCommerce trend with virtual shopping innovations
MANILA, Philippines - In the Philippine virtual marketplace, a gorgeous dress and a bottle of skin moisturizer are sold every three minutes; a handbag, a pair of earrings, and a necklace are put inside an online shopping cart every five minutes; and a unit of the latest mobile device is welcomed by its new owner every 10 minutes.
Consumers today are increasingly moving from crowded stores to the one-click virtual platform known as online shopping. As tech-savvy individuals who are always on their laptops and computers at home or in the workplace, more Filipinos today are turning to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to buying products. Earlier this year, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) revealed that the number of Filipinos who do online shopping grew by 20 percent from 3 million in 2008 to 3.6 million in 2009.
But while online shoppers have grown tremendously in number, there are still more Filipinos who don’t shop online because they do not have a credit card, or are concerned about the security risks of transacting online.
“Most Filipinos today find it hard to shop online without credit cards. And so what they usually do is ‘ride’ on the credit card of a friend, parent, or relative,” says Ginbee Go, senior vice president and BPI Cards issuing business head.
If you’re that friend, parent, or relative, then it’s good to know that you can now say goodbye to your “credit card hitchhiker,” otherwise known as the paki-bili who “rides” on your credit card to shop online.
This was the good news revealed by the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) when it recently launched its line of trend-setting innovations for online shopping fanatics — the BPI eCredit and my ePrepaid Cards, BPICards.com, and DealMania.ph — in celebration of its 160th anniversary this year. “Filipino online shoppers can now forget about being labeled as “credit card hitchhikers” through these digital innovations from BPI that will empower them with easier and more secure card payments while enjoying a world of endless shopping opportunities,” says Go.
BPI has always been known for staying a step ahead in terms of innovative banking technologies by pioneering best practices that have become the standard for today’s local banking scene. “The explosion of social media over the past two years has helped create opportunities for increased interactions and connectedness online. We have seen the tremendous growth of eCommerce, yet there are many more who are wary of shopping online due to concerns about security and payment inconvenience,” says Go.
Harnessing the best of today’s modern technology, BPI opens up a new world of shopping for digital shoppers. With the BPI eCredit Card, the first-ever virtual credit card exclusively designed for online shopping, BPI MasterCard cardholders enjoy greater peace of mind when shopping online. Because it is a companion card of the BPI Express Credit MasterCard variants — Blue, Gold, Edge, Petron and Skymiles — it uses a different card number with its own sub-limit that cardholders can set and adjust as needed.
Those without a credit card need not fret. BPI introduces the My ePrepaid card — a no-hassle, no-approval-required, re-loadable prepaid card that empowers its holders to buy whatever they want from the widest selection of MasterCard-affiliated online shopping sites without having to worry about submitting documents or maintaining a balance. “Online shoppers who shop without credit cards usually make their orders online then go to a branch of the bank specified by the merchant, deposit payments to the merchant’s account, and send a copy of the deposit slip to the merchant via fax or e-mail,” shares Aileen Lamasuta, vice president and BPI Prepaid Cards business head. “It is so inconvenient; you want to be able to purchase what you want there and then. This is the ease that My ePrepaid and eCredit cards provide our customers.”
BPI recently launched BPICards.com, an interactive website where one can obtain up-to-date information on BPI card features, promotions, and other items of interest to cardholders. Exclusive to the website — and another first in the industry — is the Profiler feature, where those looking for the right credit card will first be asked about their lifestyle and preferences so BPI can recommend the credit card that suits them best. “BPI understands that choosing a credit card is not as easy as one, two, three, so we have made things easier for them through BPICards.com’s Profiler,” says Angie Florentino, assistant vice president and BPI Credit Cards Channel Management head.
The BPI site is a revolutionary concept in itself as it also hosts DealMania.ph, a deal-buying site featured in the BPICards.com main page that is powered by BUYanihan, the first e-commerce company that jumpstarted the group-buying trend in the Philippines. DealMania.ph is exclusive to BPI cardholders and showcases up-to-date information on ongoing sales and promos from partner restaurants, hotels, wellness establishments, and many more. BPI cardholders enjoy huge discounts, freebies, and more at DealMania.ph.
“BPI wants to give its customers the best online shopping experience, which is why it has partnered with BUYanihan to guarantee its cardholders only the most exclusive shopping deals available via the Internet,” according to Jan Montifalcon, BPI Credit Cards Digital Marketing head. Since its inception on August 2010, BUYanihan has now become the fastest growing digital link marketing agency engaging top corporations for their rewards programs and online and offline activation campaigns. Today, BUYanihan is operating seven group-buying sites in the country, including exclusive rewards sites for top corporations. These sites include Buyanihan.com, Megadeals.ph, Sykes.buyanihan.com, Transcom.buyanihan.com, Ayalacoop.buyanihan, Sitel.buyanihan.com, and most recently, dealmania.ph.
BPI continues to provide customers with an easier banking experience and maintains a history of innovation aimed at shaping modern lifestyles and empowering more Filipinos with better access to products and services here and abroad, in stores or online.
For more information about BPI, visit www.bpiexpressonline.com. For BPI Cards Digital initiatives, contact Jan Montifalcon at jvlmontifalcon@bpi.com.ph. For merchants interested in building their online capabilities with BPI, contact Jeff Arrienda at jfgarrienda@bpi.com.ph.
