Hitachi seeking to bring digital payment solutions to the PHL

HITACHI Ltd. is planning to roll out its digital payment solutions in the Philippines as the Japanese conglomerate ramps up its business in the country.

“(Digital payments) would be serving the manufacturing sector and the banking sector as well as small and medium businesses,” Hitachi Asia Corporate Strategy General Manager Gerald Hane said in a virtual interview.

The company’s services could be used to connect unbanked Filipinos to digital payments, he said.

“We have some experience in other countries, but in the Philippines, this is something we’re moving toward. It is to be deployed.”

Hitachi Payment Services Pvt. Ltd. offers point of sale systems, internet payments solutions for e-commerce, and transit technology for metro rail projects, among others.

A business-to-business firm, Mr. Hane said the company provides the underlying technology or backbone behind digital payments.

The company has rolled out cash recycling machines used for deposits and withdrawals in the Philippines.

“Hitachi has installed over 1,200 of these cash recycling machines in Manila, and some surrounding cities as well,” Mr. Hane said.

The conglomerate works on projects in water, renewable energy, mobility, and financial services.

In the Philippines, the company is working on desalination projects and is eyeing transport projects.

“One of Hitachi’s offerings is in the area of mass transit, and that is both in the electrification of buses as well as trains. So trains are a long-standing business line for Hitachi, and that’s been expanding globally,” Mr. Hane said.

“In the Philippines, Hitachi is interested in also contributing to this area of mobility leveraging its capability of trains, and will hopefully be able to contribute to projects such as the North-South commuter railway, which is one area in which Hitachi is interested.” — Jenina P. Ibañez