Finance

Imported devices could get more expensive thanks to customs duty hike

iPhones to get even costlier!

Published

February 3, 2018

Shivam Vahia

The Indian government has decided to hike customs duty on imported mobile phones from 15 to 20 percent in a move designed to protect local manufacturing. The higher tariffs take effect from April 1.

The move, which will make imported devices more expensive, follows less than two months after the country raised the import duty from 10 percent to 15 percent. The new hike comes amid the nations annual Budget Session when the coming year’s finances are declared. This move will affect Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Pixel lineups the most. Luckily, we shouldn’t be seeing any price hike on the iPhone SE because it is assembled in India.

Apple has been trying to assemble its devices in India but has always found itself in some bureaucratic hurdle. Apple has been negotiating with the Indian government for lower tariffs on certain components, but the increased duties are still not in its favor.

The increase on import duties is designed to promote local manufacturing. The moves taken by the government to ensure local sourcing have started paying off though; multiple companies like Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, and BlackBerry have started making and assembling phones in India to avoid the high import duty and also further gain the benefits the government has to offer under the “Make in India” scheme. The fact that the phones are sourced in India is often a point of emphasis for these companies and another marketing point to the consumer.

A senior industry executive told the Economic Times that smartphone makers may decide to absorb a part of the duty increase because Apple had increased iPhone prices by an average 3.5 percent in December after the government had raised import duties by five percent.

Last year, Apple supplier Wistron started producing iPhone SE models in India.

Around 75 percent of all cellphones sold in India were assembled in the country in 2017, said Tarun Pathak, an analyst at Counterpoint Research to CNN.

Apps

ShopeePay now available for Apple services

Additional payment method

Published

March 20, 2023

GadgetMatch

ShopeePay, the integrated mobile wallet of the e-commerce giant, is now available as a payment method for Apple services.

That means in the Philippines, one’s ShopeePay account may be used to pay for App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV app, and iTunes Store purchases, iCloud storage and more.

Using ShopeePay as an Apple ID payment method eliminates the need for a credit card while still having a secure and easy way for one-tap purchases from iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more.

Customers can manage their Apple ID payment information in Settings on iPhone and iPad, or on their Mac or PC.

On the Shopee app itself, ShopeePay has been a convenient payment option for users to buy products, as well as to pay bills, top-up load, and more.

Apps

How to earn up to 10% interest when you save with Maya

Spend using the app

Published

March 13, 2023

GadgetMatch

Maya is urging clients to save and earn up to 10% interest by using the digital bank app for payments.

Maya Savings already offers a base interest rate of 4% p.a. (up to PhP 5,000,000), but customers can boost this rate to up to 10% when they spend using Maya on load and data packages, bills and utilities, and shopping.

The more they spend using Maya, the more spending milestones will be unlocked, which leads to a higher overall interest rate. Here are the tiers:

5%: Spend PhP 250 using the app for simple purchases like load and data packages to boost your base interest from 4% to 5%.
6%: Spend a total of PhP 1,000 to add another 1% to your total base interest rate, so use the app to pay at convenience stores or restaurants.
8%: Keep using Maya to pay bills and utilities with just a few taps; once you accumulate a total spend of PhP 20,000, the rate jacks up to 8%.
10%: Lastly, spend another PhP 10,000 (PhP 30,000 total) on shopping, groceries, and more, to finally reach the 10% interest rate.

Maya’s offer is available for all Maya Savings customers from March 7 to April 30 only, while the 10% p.a. applies to deposits up to PhP 100,000.

It also only takes one valid ID and no minimum balance to open a Maya account, if you have not done that yet.

Get the Maya app on the App Store, Google Play, or AppGallery.

Finance

GCash represents Philippines, SEA at MWC 2023

An innovator in the fintech scene

Published

March 10, 2023

GadgetMatch

The Philippines was well-represented at the recent MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, with GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon delivering a keynote speech there.

Sazon’s talk revolved around emphasizing the e-wallet’s innovative and game-changing solutions aimed at financial inclusion, as she even called GCash “a national champion that helps transform a nation”.

The leading financial app in the country now has over 76 million registered users, and is believed to be one of few fintech solutions that are sustainable in the Southeast Asian scene.

As GCash and its parent company Globe Group were not only representing the Philippines but also the entire Southeast Asia at the event, the brand prided itself in being a benchmark for innovative financial services and solutions.

Likewise, the platform’s net promoter score (NPS), a gauge measuring customer experience and predicts business growth, has been at par with globally recognized brands at 83.9%.

This year’s MWC, the second in-person gathering since the pandemic, garnered over 88,500 total attendees.