Insider Spotlight
Built in Silicon Valley and licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Zed is positioning itself as a next-generation credit card platform tailored to young professionals who travel frequently, shop online, and split expenses digitally.
The big picture
The Android rollout significantly expands Zed’s reach in a mobile-first country dominated by Android users.
Cardholders can now access the company’s full digital credit stack, including unlimited virtual cards with real-time spending controls, zero foreign transaction fees with no foreign exchange markup, peer-to-peer payments on credit, and contactless payments via Google Pay.
Zed was part of the first cohort of credit card issuers to go live on Google Pay in the Philippines last November.
“Android unlocks scale for us,” said Danielle Cojuangco Abraham, Co-Founder of Zed. “We’re now able to bring features like unlimited virtual cards, zero FX fees, and seamless peer-to-peer payments to far more Filipinos who have been waiting for a better credit experience.”
Why it matters
Card and payments fraud remains a persistent issue in the Philippines, particularly for online transactions. Zed’s unlimited virtual cards are designed to directly address that risk.
Users can generate virtual cards for specific merchants, assign individual spending limits, and set cards to expire after a single use or within 24 hours.
This structure minimizes exposure of primary card details and reduces fraud risk compared to traditional physical cards. The virtual cards also integrate seamlessly with Google Pay for secure in-store and online payments.
Travel edge
Zed says it is the only credit card in the Philippines offering both zero foreign transaction fees and zero markup on currency conversion rates. Cardholders spending abroad are charged at the real exchange rate, eliminating hidden costs on international purchases, flight bookings, and overseas transactions.
‘KKB’ on credit
The app also enables cardholders to send payments to each other directly on credit, allowing users to split bills or group expenses and settle at the end of the billing cycle. Friends without Zed can repay via InstaPay QR transfers into the cardholder’s account.
Installments, simplified
Zed Installments allow users to convert large purchases within the app at a flat 1 percent per month. The feature is fully digital, transparent, and free of hidden fees or early repayment penalties.
What’s next
Invitations will roll out immediately to users on the waitlist as Zed scales its Android footprint nationwide, aiming to set a new benchmark for secure, transparent, and digital-first credit in the Philippines. —Ramon C. Nocon | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
