PLDT, Smart Strengthen Security of Online Transactions for Millions of Philippine Customers with Vesta

MANILA,Philippines,Nov. 16,2021 -- PLDT,Inc. (PLDT),the Philippines' largestfullyintegrated telecommunications company,and itswireless unitSmart Communications,Inc. (Smart)announced that they areutilizing the anti-fraud solutions of Vesta to enhance the protection of online transactions made by customers across their digital channels.

Vesta is one of the world's leading instant,end-to-end transaction guarantee platforms for online purchases,and its anti-fraud solutionwas availedby PayMaya Philippines (PayMaya),the fintech arm of PLDT affiliate Voyager Innovations,to be offered to its clients.PayMaya powers the payment acceptance for PLDT and Smart's digital channels. It is the Philippines' only end-to-end digital financial services platform company,with the largest and fastest-growing enterprise payment processing business today.

Through theinitiative,PLDT and Smart customers can enjoysafer,more secure,and more seamless online payment transactions using PayMaya's payment acceptance solutions,with Vesta's anti-fraud tools.

Vesta has over two decades of global telecom industry experience and works with leadingtelecommunication brands around the world. Vesta's real-time decisioning platform provides the analytics and authentication technology required to increase approvals of legitimate transactions,while rejecting bad ones.This ensures that PLDT and Smart customers canconfidently make payments across variousdigital domestic and international channels.

"The combination of PLDT'scustomer-centricdigital solutions,PayMaya's industry-leading payment acceptance solutions,and Vesta'sartificial intelligence (AI)-enabled fraud detection and approval enhancement capabilitiesallowus to deliver superior customer-centric services and provide ourcustomerswith the best payment experience possible. We will continue to push the frontier of financial technology as we rapidly shift to a landscape where more Filipinos are digitally-empowered,"said Di Blanco,Vice President of PLDT and Smart Customer Experience.

According to the e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google,Temasek and Bain & Company,with the pandemic necessitating mobility restrictions and contactless services,37% of digital service consumers inthePhilippines were new to digital services,which is slightly higher than the SEA average of 36%,with 95% of these new consumers intending to continue their behavior post-pandemic.

Additionally,a recentsurveyconducted by Vesta found that one in three consumers across Southeast Asiahasexperienced online fraud.Roughly a third of all shoppers inthePhilippines specifically rank safety and security as their top concern when it comes to e-commerce,which is whycustomer-focused technologycompanies like PLDT and Smart are looking at world-class solutions provided by companies like Vesta.

"We are delighted tobe able to supportPLDT and Smart instrengthening their trustto provide a safe,secure,and frictionless payment experience for PLDT's customersthrough PayMaya's solutions. Our mission is simple: help companies scale their digital payment touchpoints with greater confidence by leveraging our end-to-end transaction guarantee platform for domestic and international transactions,"said Shabab Muhaddes,Vesta General Manager in the Asia Pacific.

More information about Vesta and its suite of fraud prevention and transaction guarantee solutions can be found atwww.vesta.io.

About Vesta Corporation

Vesta is the only instant,end-to-end transaction guarantee platform for online purchases,delivering unparalleled approval rates,a better customer experience and eliminating fraud for leading brands in telco,e-commerce,travel,and financial services. Using machine learning backed by 25 years of transactional data history,Vesta increases approvals of legitimate sales for its customers,while eliminating chargebacks and other forms of digital fraud,driving the true cost of fraud to zero and transferring 100% of the liability for fraud,including chargeback processing,so merchants can focus on increasing sales. The company is headquartered in Portland,OR,with offices in Atlanta,Miami,Ireland,Mexico,and Singapore. For more information visit www.vesta.io.

About the other companies

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers,merchants,communities,and government. Through its enterprise business,it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as the largest retail,food,gas,and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.

PLDTis the Philippines' largest fully integrated telecommunications company. Through its principal business groups — from fixed line to wireless — PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications and digital services across the Philippines' most extensive fiber optic backbone,and fixed line and cellular networks.

Smart is a wholly-owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT,Inc. Smart serves approximately 96% of the country's cities and municipalities with its combined 2G,3G,4G LTE,and 5G network,providing mobile communications services,high-speed internet connectivity,and access to digital services and content to 72 million Filipinos,supporting the country's growing digital economy,and providing the best customer experience for an increasingly digital Filipino lifestyle.