Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said Monday it completed the acquisition of 28,053 common shares of CIS Bayad Center Inc. (CBCI) from Japan’s Densan System Co. Ltd. Monday for P241.5 million.
Meralco said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that Densan, a Japanese company that launched Japan’s first convenience store payment service, invested in CBCI in 2017.
Meralco said that following the acquisition of Densan’s stake, Customer Information Solutions Inc. will own 85 percent; Kayana Solutions Inc., 10 percent; and Meralco, 5 percent of CBCI.
Customer Information Solutions Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meralco.
CBCI or Bayad (formerly Bayad Center) is the biggest and widest multi-channel payment platform in the Philippines.
Bayad has more than 20 solid years in the outsourced payment collection industry. It is the top-of-mind, leading brand when it comes to bills payment.
Bayad is a subsidiary of Meralco and a member of the MVP Group of Companies.
Meralco said early this year it was not earning from convenience fees from online payment, but only processes it for its payment partners.
Meralco vice president and corporate communications head Joe Zaldarriaga said Bayad waived the fee as the payment processor for Meralco Online.
Meralco also said it was not earning profit from convenience fees charged to customers using third-party options like GCash, Maya, Visa, Mastercard and JCB Bankcards for bill settlements through Meralco Online.
“We would like to reiterate that there is no charge if customers use Bayad e-wallet and that convenience fees for other providers go to our payment partners. We do not earn a single centavo from these convenience fees contrary to what was inaccurately stated,” Zaldarriaga said.
