Dragonpay is, without a doubt, one of the most accessible and reliable payment solution providers in the Philippines in the past decade.
It serves as a mediator between buyers and sellers, but it also establishes itself as a one-stop-shop gateway where sellers who use various online platforms can make payments to their selected merchants.
But behind this successful ten-year-old payment solution company is a humble man who stumbled upon the idea of Dragonpay by chance,
Before Robertson "Dick" Chiang became the founder and CEO of Dragonpay, he took many different roles first.
After Dick graduated top of his class with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1991, he immediately worked as a system analyst in one of the country's most reputable banks.
But after two years, he felt urged to pursue higher studies that would complement his technology background with a business acumen.
Robertson flew to Massachusetts for an MBA degree at Babson Graduate School of Business. While in the US, he saw first-hand the potential of the Internet even in those early dialup days, and immediately went home to the Philippines after graduation to start his first business.
Planet Internet, as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) company was called, as one of the pioneers in the local online industry. It quickly expanded to the provinces through alliances with like-minded tech entrepreneurs.
The company was later bought out by Mozcom, the Philippines first commercial ISP, and Robertson joined Mozcom as its CTO, then later as its President.
In 2012, Robertson decided to quit his 9 to 5 job in Mozcom to focus his full time and attention on his own startup Dragonpay.
"The original intention of Dragonpay was to allow people to pay using their online banking account. But after testing it out for a few months, I quickly realized it was still very limited as the Philippines' banking market is only about 20% of the population, and most people do not have access to Internet banking," Dick shared in an interview.
"The next logical conclusion was to expand the service to include over-the-counter payments, and that's when things really picked up."
Fast forward to today, not only does Dragonpay partner with various banks and over-the-counter payment merchants, but it also connects customers to e-commerce platforms such as Shopee.
Given that Dragonpay's main line of business is collecting payments, one of the biggest challenges that Robertson faces up to this day is establishing trust with more possible partnerships.
"You have to convince the merchants to trust you with the payment collection and that you won't run away with their money. You also have to convince the buyers to trust you with their payments as a 3rd party collector," according to Robertson.
As the founder and CEO of Dragonpay, Robertson, along with more than 50 employees, thrives on the idea of honesty and integrity in dealing with money as their primary business line.
"If you lose your honesty and integrity, the whole business model crumbles down. I expect the same from my employees. They have to conduct their work with the same approach," Roberston explains.
During these times of uncertainty, Dragonpay allows all kinds of businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to proceed with their trades from various channels, even in the absence of credit card terminals or other online facilities.
To know more about Dragonpay and its services, please visit www.dragonpay.ph.
