Social media and shopping app LYKA aims to encourage more Filipinos to pursue entrepreneurship as it plans to recruit more partner merchants.
“LYKA has more than 28,000 partner merchants. What is fascinating is that due to the unique concept of the social-media gift card, LYKA was able to capture even the micro-entrepreneurs,” LYKA Global CEO Ryan Baird said in an online interview.
“Besides having the big brands, the app was also able to penetrate mom-and-pop stores, public-market vendors, cab drivers, street vendors and the likes. This is the first time for these independent businesses to accept digital payments, something credit-card companies will never be able to do,” Baird added.
To broaden consumer choices, Baird said LYKA aims to get 1 million stock-keeping units (SKU) in its LYKA Mall to give users more options in the use of their Giftcard in Electronic Mode (GEMs). LYKA GEM is the first paperless, contactless and seamless social gift card in the world.
“Likewise, most celebrities and influencers are already posting on the app. Users can easily interact and give them GEMs as gifts and at the same time earn GEMs when they post on the app. These GEMs can be used to pay for products and services, buy items from the LYKA Mall and LYKA Grocery, as well as pay bills and other electronic loads,” Baird said.
Compared to the other popular social-media apps, Baird said LYKA’s main difference is it enables the user to earn from his or her activity within the app.
“Soon, users will earn from the ads that they choose to view. It’s like every billboard paying you when you travel through Edsa, or TV commercials rewarding you just by watching them This is a feature that traditional media or any other social-media apps do not have,” he explained.
Baird said they are also beefing up LYKA Grocery’s presence to serve more areas outside the National Capital Region and its five nearby provinces. This will also see expansion of the bills payment capability for its users.
Baird, meanwhile, pointed out that these services and benefits will be enjoyed by LYKA users once the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issues the registration as an Operator of Payment System (OPS) to LYKA. He said the company expects it to be issued by the first quarter of 2022.