Maya Inc. is pressing for payroll portability and Open Finance to give Filipino employees more control over where their salaries land and how their financial data can be used, as it works with the country’s outsourcing industry to extend savings and credit access to nearly 1.9 million digital workers.
Kristoffer Rada, Maya head of corporate affairs, said digital payroll can serve as an entry point to broader financial health as Open Finance, artificial intelligence (AI), and interoperable payment infrastructure develop.
‘The future of work should also mean better financial tools for workers. Reliable digital salary disbursement is the starting point,’ Rada said. ‘When payroll connects people to saving, payments and responsible credit, it can support financial health well beyond payday.’
Maya is working with business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) to expand financial access for digital workers and to modernize payroll, disbursement, and reimbursement workflows.
The partnership with IBPAP also seeks to widen access to savings and responsibly underwritten credit cards for qualified digital workers.
Through Maya Business, employers can send salaries and other employee payouts digitally and at scale, which the company said can cut manual processes and administrative work, particularly for large employers operating across multiple sites and around the clock.
Workers, in turn, can receive and manage their pay in the Maya app, using it for everyday transactions, setting funds aside in savings, and building a financial footprint.
As that footprint grows, Rada said, data and AI can help financial institutions better understand customer needs and make more informed credit decisions, including for customers with limited traditional credit histories.
‘Payroll should not end with the disbursement of a salary,’ Rada said. ‘Done well, it can connect workers to financial tools that help them manage everyday needs, prepare for emergencies and build toward longer-term goals.’
Maya also supports allowing employees to choose where their salaries are deposited. Backing the Digital Bank Association of the Philippines (DiBA PH), the company has advocated payroll portability, which would require bank-agnostic disbursement through interoperable payment infrastructure.
Open Finance could complement this by letting workers, with their consent, securely share financial information to access services better suited to their needs.
‘Digital payroll is the starting point. Payroll portability can eventually give workers more choice over where their salaries go, while Open Finance can help them use their own data to access more relevant services,’ Rada said.
On AI, Rada said the debate over the future of work should move past whether technology will automate particular tasks and focus instead on how businesses can use it to improve productivity and competitiveness without losing trust.
‘AI is going to change how work gets done, but the bigger question for businesses is how to capture that value responsibly,’ he said. ‘That means knowing where AI creates real value, where people still need to make the call and keeping clear accountability for the outcome.’
Maya already uses AI in digital onboarding, credit assessment, fraud detection, personalization, customer service, and operations. It began building a formal AI governance framework in 2024, followed by a Board-approved policy and controls covering risk classification, testing, monitoring, security, and human accountability.
Rada said wider AI adoption will take more than sophisticated technology. Businesses need people across functions who understand how AI can be applied responsibly, while government and industry need to keep investing in digital infrastructure, workforce capability, and responsible AI adoption.
‘The opportunity is bigger than adopting new technology,’ Rada said. ‘It is about giving workers more choice, giving businesses better tools and building the infrastructure and trust that allow both to participate more fully in a digital economy.’