Dear BigPay Family

First and foremost, our heart is with those who have been affected by Covid-19.

With the movement control order, we want you to know we take our duty of care seriously. We've implemented measures to ensure we continue to serve you with no disruption while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff.

While we’re monitoring the situation closely, we’ve come up with 4 practical ideas to keep us safe and positive and thought we’d share them with you.

1. Stay safe, stay sane

There are a number of practical things we can do to help prevent the spread: washing our hands frequently, avoiding touching our face, staying away from close contact...

But mental health is just as important, and social distancing can take a toll on people.

We’re social creatures after all! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

If you notice changes in your sleeping patterns, have trouble concentrating, or feel that some of your preexisting health problems are worsening, you might be suffering from stress due to the anxiety of the outbreak. It’s perfectly normal.

Try this:

• Take a break from watching the news or reading your social media.

• Eat healthy and well-balanced meals, exercise, avoid sugar or smoking.

• Make time to unwind, either by reading or doing something else you enjoy.

• Connect with your friends and family you can’t see right now.

Want to read more?

Here’s a great article offering strategies to cope with anxiety about Covid-19.

In short: now’s the right time to be good humans!

Social distancing and staying home may be a challenge at first - but every action we take ensures our healthcare system is not overwhelmed and those on the front lines of this pandemic can do their jobs safely. Let’s make a difference.

2. Stay calm, don’t panic

We probably don’t need to stock on 14 months worth of toilet paper for 2 weeks of movement control. Supermarkets are still open and restaurants still deliver!

We’re all spending a lot of time on our computers and phones, so let’s put that to good use. Buy everything you need online – from books to groceries, to delicious meals and even that DIY kombucha kit you’ve been eying for a while...

We care about you, so we put together some exclusive deals where BigPay users get rewarded for your online shopping: up to 9% cashback Lazada, 7% on Shopee, 8% on dahmakan - and more.

Check out the full list here!

Remember that BigPay is accepted at more online merchants than any other e-wallet.

3. Keep hustling, be productive

Looking for something productive to do?

Now’s the perfect time to pick up a new good habit, or learn a new skill!

If you’re still a student, Coursera for Campus is now available globally at no cost to any university impacted by Covid-19. That’s free access to over 3,800 courses from some of the biggest schools and companies in the world.

Otherwise, HubSpot Academy offers free courses and certificates that are highly regarded in the professional world - for free. Our personal favorite? The Inbound Marketing certification course that’ll take you less than 4 hours to complete.

Another really efficient way to spend your time is to sort out your personal finance.

We’ve reviewed some simple budgeting techniques in the past, such as the 50/30/20 rule or how to build your travel fund in 5 steps. Starting on the right foot requires a bit of time... but luckily this lockdown provides plenty.

The good news is: if you’re a BigPay user, you’re one step ahead of everyone else. You’re saving on all banking fees, from exchange rates to international remittance, and all your spendings are already categorized in your app.

Just go to your Analytics page, tap the Export icon in the top right corner, select the time period you want to look at and then… it’s crunch time!

You got this. 💪

4. Start planning your escape

Being stuck at home may have some advantages…

If you are doubling down on online shopping, you might as well collect all the AirAsia points along the way with BigPay. Then, when all the madness has passed, book your trip to Hawaii or the Maldives on AirAsia with all the points you’ve earned.

While we’ve built BigPay to a business of the future, without banknotes and without branches (which spread viruses!), many across the region will suffer heavily from this crisis - especially in the travel industry. In due time, they will need our help.

It’s a difficult road we’re all on, but we’re confident that if we work together, we will come out of this stronger and better.

Remember, we all need to be responsible members of society and play our part to protect the most vulnerable. Stay strong, stay safe.

Love you 3,000.

The BigPay Team