PayMaya Is Now Maya: What Changed and What Did Not

October 22, 2026How-To Guides

If you grew up using the name PayMaya, the current branding can be confusing. The app store listing says Maya, the bank transfer menus say Maya Philippines, Inc., and yet friends, older websites and search queries keep calling it PayMaya. The two names refer to the same service family, and the change happened in 2022. Understanding what was renamed, what was added and what stayed the same helps you read old tutorials with the right level of caution and explains why bank apps sometimes show different labels for the same wallet.

This article gives a plain-language timeline and then explains how the change affects people who move money between BDO and Maya.

From SMS money to PayMaya

The story starts well before the wallet app that most people know. Public reporting describes an early mobile money service from the telecom operator Smart, known as Smart Money, which allowed fund transfers through text messages. Over the years that service evolved into a broader digital payments business. In 2016 it took the name PayMaya Philippines and operated across remittance through the Smart Padala network, prepaid online payments through the PayMaya wallet and card, and merchant services for businesses.

At that stage PayMaya was widely seen as a way for people without credit cards to shop online, because the app could issue a virtual card without requiring a bank account or a credit history. Industry commentary at the time highlighted how this approach reached people who were outside the traditional banking system.

The 2022 rebrand to Maya

In the spring of 2022 the operator announced that PayMaya would be overhauled and renamed Maya, and the new brand took effect on May 2 of that year. The change coincided with the launch of Maya Bank, a digital bank licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Senior executives explained that the word pay in the old name implied payments only, while the new platform aimed to combine payments, savings, credit and other services in a single app.

The rebrand reached beyond the consumer app. The business payments arm became Maya Business, and the neighborhood agent network formerly known as Smart Padala became Maya Center. Many people still use the older names in conversation, which is why search results often mix them.

What actually changed for users

The Maya app brought savings, credit and other bank-backed features alongside the e-wallet. Eligible customers can move money from the wallet into Maya Savings, and the wallet continues to handle the everyday tasks that PayMaya users already knew, such as sending money, paying bills, buying load, scanning codes to pay and shopping online.

The branding changed on cards, in stores and across partner apps, although some physical places kept the older logo for a while. If you see the old PayMaya logo on a counter or a terminal, it does not mean you are using a different service.

What stayed the same

Your mobile number, your wallet and your history carried over, and existing users were encouraged to update the app instead of creating a new account. The basic mechanics of cashing in from a bank, sending money to other wallets and paying through QR codes also continued. For BDO customers, the interbank route through InstaPay kept working, although the bank list label changed from PayMaya Philippines to Maya Philippines, Inc.

Support channels, terms and conditions and account limits are updated from time to time, so review the current versions in the app instead of relying on a memory of the old ones.

How the rename affects BDO to Maya transfers

Older tutorials, including many written before 2022, tell you to pick PayMaya in a bank drop-down list or in a bills payment menu. Today the same action usually involves choosing Maya Philippines, Inc., and some old routes may no longer exist. For instance, earlier guides described paying PayMaya as a biller in BDO online banking. Users have since reported that such options changed, and Maya's current guidance emphasizes the interbank transfer, the cash-in route inside the Maya app and branch deposits.

When you follow an old tutorial, compare each step with your current screen. If a menu item is missing, look for the modern equivalent instead of assuming that the service no longer works.

A connection with BDO that goes back a long way

BDO and Maya have a long history of cooperation. Industry coverage from 2016 noted that PayMaya partnered with BDO so that BDO customers could load money into the virtual card directly from their bank accounts. Public encyclopedia records also describe the original Smart Money service as launched in cooperation with a small bank that later merged into BDO. The relationship today is a partnership between separate companies, not a merger, and each side has its own app, its own support and its own terms.

This is why a transfer between the two involves two sets of rules. BDO sets the rules for the sending side, and Maya sets the rules for the receiving side.

Practical advice for the transition

Use the current name when you search for help, but include the older name as well, since many useful articles still say PayMaya. Keep your Maya app updated, check the official help pages in the app for current steps, and treat dates on tutorials as important clues. A guide from before the rebrand may still be mostly correct, but a guide from several years ago is more likely to describe menus that have moved.

If a website or message claims to offer a special PayMaya or Maya service and asks for your PIN, one-time code or card details, treat it as a scam. Genuine steps never require you to share those secrets.

PayMaya Is Now Maya: What Changed and What Stayed the Same