November 1, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Former senator and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has launched a new financial platform under 7th Pillar Integration Systems Corp., aiming to provide Filipinos with a secure, low-cost and fully local alternative for digital payments.
The Manny Pay app, which initially operates as a payment gateway, will soon evolve into a full-fledged e-wallet and remittance service, according to 7th Pillar president and CEO Marc Bundalian.
“It’s definitely going to be an e-wallet but right now we’re a payment gateway,” Bundalian said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch event held Thursday night.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued Manny Pay a temporary license to operate, giving the company 30 days to demonstrate compliance with regulatory standards.
“Normally, the BSP gives temporary licenses to see if the process flow is correct. After 30 days, we’ll be granted a permanent license,” Bundalian said.
Pacquiao, who serves as chairman of 7th Pillar, said the idea for Manny Pay was inspired by a casual dinner conversation.
“It started when we ate at a restaurant and someone asked, ‘Who’s gonna pay?’ Then they said, Manny Pay,” Pacquiao recounted with a laugh.
“Manny Pay came up because of that dinner – and Manny always pays. Our business is an IT company, and all our developers are local Filipinos. Tatak Filipino talaga ito,” Bundalian said.
The platform is powered by Amazon Web Services to ensure high-level data protection and system reliability. “It’s very secure,” Bundalian said, adding that the team is taking a “slow but steady” approach to expansion to prioritize user security and service quality.
“We don’t want to rush it. We want to make sure our users’ data and transactions are safe. Hopefully, we won’t have the same scamming issues that have affected other e-wallets,” he said.
Manny Pay users will be able to pay utility bills, including water, electricity and toll top-ups for expressways. The company expects all payment processes to be fully operational by year-end.
“The highlight for us is lower fees. We promise lower convenience charges – about P2 less per transaction compared with others,” Bundalian said. “We’ll also be connected to InstaPay in the coming days or weeks.”
Once the platform secures a full electronic money issuer license, it plans to roll out fund transfers and remittance features targeted toward overseas Filipino workers.