Banco General ‘Yappy’ Makes an Important Update

People ask in Panama, what is Yappy?  It is a money transfer app where you can send money through mobile devices such as your phone.  The Banco General ‘Yappy’ platform processes 25 million transactions monthly, quickly and securely, between 1.4 million users.   Around $9.5 billion in transactions was reported by the Yappy payment platform in 2023. Sending money in real time through mobile devices is the trend throughout the world, Panama included.  Each bank has its own technological developments and services.  In the case of Banco General, Yappy operates almost like an electronic wallet to pay and receive money instantly using only the users’ cell phone number or companies that are in the platform’s directory.  Felipe Motta, executive vice president of Consumer Banking at Banco General, explains that 85% of the entity’s customer transactions are carried out through the mobile application, online banking or through debit and credit cards.  “The digital banking ecosystem is growing more every day and will continue to grow. Customers can make all types of transactions digitally: make payments for public services, recharge their Metro and Bus cards, their Panapass, their cell phone data, make transfers to third parties and pay other persons through Yappy, among other services,” Motta highlighted. What is the minimum and maximum amount that can be sent through Yappy?  The minimum to send is $0.01 and the maximum to send per transaction is $9,999.00. And transfers can be made to 21 thousand businesses.  Yappy launched in June 2019 and was quickly embraced.  In 2021 we reached the figure of one million Yappy users and we aimed at 1.4 million users who transact.  In the month of December 2022, on several days of the month, more than one million transactions were carried out per day through Yappy.  In total, in the month of December 2022, more than 26 million transactions were carried out through Yappy.  Yappy is the most used digital payment platform in our country.  What other trends do you see in the world of payments?  The trend away from cash and checks is clear. We are seeing that the consumer wants to be able to pay through their cell phone, without friction and quickly.  “There are already more than 21,000 companies and enterprises affiliated with Yappy Commercial that appear in the Directory and can receive payments without being present in the same place as the client and with the exact amount of the transaction. We are helping many people to be included in the financial system, not only because they have access to it, but because it has a low cost and is easy to use,” highlighted the Executive Vice President of Consumer Banking at Banco General.  In recent days, a conversation and debate has been generated on social networks about the security of transactions and how to avoid sending money incorrectly through instant payment platforms such as Yappy. What happens if money is sent by mistake on Yappy?

Yolianna Alfaro, commercial director of Yappy, points out that it is essential that users pay due attention when sending and receiving money to avoid making errors in the transaction.  The first security filter is the user himself, she adds.  What recommendations do you give for transferring money through Yappy?  Yappy is an instant payment method, that is, money is transferred in real time.  The client is always the main security control, since he is the one carrying out the transaction. The first fundamental step when making your payment is to carefully review the amount and cell phone number to which you will send the Yappy.  The app helps you by asking at times other than the process if you are sure it is the amount and number you want to send the money to.  It is important to reiterate that due to banking regulations, financial institutions cannot enter their clients’ accounts and withdraw money that they have received from third parties, whether for erroneous payments or similar.  In order for the bank to debit (withdraw) money from an account, it is necessary to have authorization from the account owner or a court order.  What to do if a user makes a mistake when transferring money on Yappy? Banco General’s payment application made an update this week and now shows new functions for sending and receiving money. A function was added that allows you to make an immediate refund if you receive the wrong Yappy. This was one of the first complaints from users, that there was no function to recover the money sent or return it. Yolianna Alfaro, commercial director of Yappy, explained that they listened to customers and added new functionalities to improve transactions and the experience with digital payments.  Another change is that you can see the name of the person to whom the money will be sent through Yappy, just by entering the cell phone number. The system identifies the person and also generates a message so that the user can have time to corroborate the data. This safety control measure is to prevent errors.  The other feature is that you can now add emojis and GIFs to the money sending message.  Likewise, you can easily search for the operations carried out by Yappy, both shipments and transactions received from individuals and businesses, to control payments. The application also shows a more accessible menu, to quickly find the option to scan QR codes in stores and split the bill with other people.  Yappy is used by 1.4 million people who can use it within the Banco General mobile application or in the Yappy App.