Pay It Forward: How to Give Back this Holiday with PayMaya

For most people, the holiday season around Christmas and New Year means endless spending on shopping, dining, vacation and all that stuff that will make us jolly. I’m one of those who would join the holiday rush by shopping for gifts for either myself and my family and friends and to take advantage of the biggest shopping deals that usually happen before the year ends.

Whether at the physical store or online, shopping this holiday season was convenient and easy for me with the help of PayMaya app. What’s awesome is that the more I use it to pay or shop, the more cashback I get – which I can use to shop more! How amazing of PayMaya to offer discounts and cashback promos that will benefit every Filipino.

But more than these exciting promos and deals that we take advantage of, PayMaya is urging us this holiday season to pay it forward to the people around us by doing acts of kindness. This is through their social movement initiative, #PayMayaItForward. I got really inspired by this and decided to do my own sharing of spreading kindness all around.

Meet Rodel, the cab driver

One day, I had a hard time getting a cab going home from work. The holiday rush is definitely real. After awhile, I was lucky to get a cab and the cab driver’s name is Rodel. We all know that the traffic is crazy come holiday season and getting from one place to another is hard for commuters. That’s why I’m always thankful for cabs and good cab drivers like him.

Going back to Rodel, while we were conversing to forget the bad traffic situation, he shared about his personal and family life and his sacrifices as a cab driver. I found out that he’s a father of two that’s why he’s working very hard. He drives a cab at least 14 straight hours everyday, 6 times a week. I said I admire him for his eagerness but what made me a bit sad is that he’s living in Metro Manila without his family which means he’ll be celebrating Christmas and New Year alone. He said his children moved to the province and his wife is working as an OFW in the Middle East.

I was touched and could relate to his feeling about being away from family. Before arriving at my destination, I surprised Rodel with a Christmas basket which I brought from cashback I got from my previous purchase via PayMaya QR. Can you believe that he’s also a PayMaya user? He felt so happy and said he will bring it home as a pasalubong when he visits his children in the province next month.

 #PayMayaItForward with #ScanToPay

PayMaya is doing its own act of kindness this holiday season as well. This month, PayMaya users who will scan-to-pay at our partner merchants from December 16 to 31, 2019 will receive 1%, 10% or 100% cashback (capped at P500) each time they shop. PayMaya will then match the amount of cashback given to their users at the end of the promo period and donate it to their chosen beneficiary, Gawad Kalinga’s School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED).

SEED Philippines provides an education-based solution to rural development. It is the first school for social entrepreneurship for the poor which serve as a model for rural development through education and hands-on learning mentored by an international team of social entrepreneurs and innovators. SEED prepares students to create social enterprises that will develop rural areas through rural job and wealth creation. It serves as a pilot that will be replicated to provide a qualityeducation to thousands in communities across the Philippines. Gawad Kalinga-SEED was also the beneficiary of PayMaya It Forward initiative last year.

As a PayMaya user, I get to enjoy the cashback and help those in need at the same. Giving back is the true spirit of holiday season after all.

This initiative from PayMaya made me realize all the blessings I received this year, including the opportunity to travel around the Philippines. It inspired me to give back and pay it forward by doing my own act of kindness. Because of the recent cashback I got from using PayMaya to pay my bills and shop online, I was able to buy a simple holiday grocery basket to share with a stranger.

As a PayMaya user, you can join the #PayMayaItForward movement in your own little way. If you don’t have a PayMaya account yet, download the app for FREE. Click here for Android users and click here for iOS users. Don’t forget to enter my invite code (GABZPAYMAYA) when you sign up and upgrade your account to receive your P50 gift. Please visit PayMaya.com to know more about the latest and deals from PayMaya.

Giving back, especially to someone you don’t know and those who who need it, is a great feeling. When’s the last time you did something kind for a stranger? I would love to hear them in the comment section below.

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