Although business in general has closed down, there's a boom in businesses trying to go online. A lot of small businesses are developing new ways of delivering their goods through Messenger and twitter. Payment online is the only way of collecting and paying for goods and services. My bank's online service warned users of peak and off-peak times to use the online features. Alibaba the Chinese marketing giant, released a statement that they are investing 20 Billion dollars in online stores and payment facilities in light of the corona virus pandemic that hit China.
Closer to home, I expanded my payment facilities from BDO online banking to Bayad Center and Lazada's bill payments. I can only sympathize with a lot of Filipinos who do not have Internet access to be able to make the jump from over-the-counter cash pay to electronic. Both Meralco and the water utilities have issued company statements to extend payment deadlines by 30 days and to institute a policy of no service disconnection while there is a community quarantine in place. Don't be complacent about those bills piling up though. Be mindful of your cash position. This pandemic has shown our vulnerabilities as a society.
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