NHA signs deal with Maya for housing loan payments

The National Housing Authority (NHA) signed an agreement with Maya Philippines Inc. to adopt alternative online payment options for the monthly amortization payments of the government’s housing beneficiaries, according to a report by BusinessMirror.

NHA General Manager Joeben Tai signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the company represented by Ma. Rocielo B. Nunez, Senior Lead and Cluster Head of the Maya Public Sector and Special Enterprise, to pilot digital payments in special housing projects in Region 2 and in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

According to NHA, beneficiaries from these selected housing projects would be able to pay their monthly amortization payments and other fees through the Maya Bills Payment Service or the Maya application.

Aside from making payments, NHA said the service will also issue billing notices and remittances of collected payments through e-mail or SMS notifications to the beneficiaries.  The country’s housing authority noted that this was a “long-awaited” proposal for an alternative option to “remotely, efficiently, and securely” pay monthly amortizations.

NHA said this “was realized during the pandemic when NHA’s manual methods in billing issuances and payment collection did work efficiently and effectively.”

The housing authority said the adoption of alternative online payment options may also provide livelihood opportunities to beneficiaries who intend to become merchants in the community for Maya e-wallet cash-ins.

NHA said the agreement is aligned with laws backing the government’s initiatives on digital transformation such as Republic Act (RA) 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 and RA 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

The E-Commerce Act mandates all government agencies to accept payments through electronic means while the Ease of Doing Business law mandates all offices and agencies to improve their transactions and procedures.

Maya said it has already partnered with other government agencies including the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Trade and Industry, Land Transportation Office, and Professional Regulation Commission.

The digital app said on its web site that its partnership with government offices enables users to pay government dues using the Maya’s Pay Bills feature, among others. Maya is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.