GCash-Makati partnership inspires Makatizen to pursue microbusiness

“The P5K financial assistance we are giving to all Makatizens aims to help them alleviate the burden of paying their bills at this time when income for most is hard to come by. I was happy to hear stories on how Makatizens have put this help to good use by also investing in alternative sources of livelihood. I'm proud to say, maabilidad, masipag at maaasahan talaga ang mga Makatizens.” ~Abby Binay, Makati Mayor

Distribution of funds during the observance of community quarantine may be challenging. But due to the continued partnership of the Makati local government and GCash, Makatizens enjoyed receiving financial aid digitally. With the disbursed financial aid, Makatizens turned into microbusiness owners. They try to develop other sources of income by selling products that would help them face this challenging time.

As local governments implement initiatives to alleviate the financial situation of their constituents, GCash willingly lent a helping hand to serve as a distribution platform for cash assistance. Makati is the first city in Metro Manila to implement contactless financial assistance through GCash and the Makatizen Card. Under the Makatizen Economic Relief Program, now called the MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens, the local government provides its individual qualified citizens with P5,000 in financial assistance.

One of those who were able to benefit from this partnership is Diana Oblino, a resident of Barangay Olympia. She and five other members of her household were able to receive P25,000 in cash, which they used to pay the pile of electricity and water bills accumulated during the quarantine.

Not only that, but they were also able to open a small sari-sari store to keep their money growing instead of spending it all in one go. 

“Because of the MAKA-tulong Program, we were able to build another source of income that would help us get through these trying times. What a relief really, that is our ‘new normal’ – the time of social distancing and quarantine, Makati was able to lessen human-to-human contact and distribute cash through online platforms because of a project launched years ago.” ~Diana Oblino, a resident of Barangay Olympia

Oblino said the process of receiving was easy because they only needed to wait until GCash sent them a notification saying that P5,000 was deposited to their e-wallets. 

The MAKA-tulong Program also helped Joeffrey Furo, who is among the first batch of beneficiaries, to use the financial aid as fresh capital for his e-loading business, small sari-sari store, and computer repair shop. For Furo, the money came as a beacon of hope amid the crisis, since he was a person with a disability (PWD) who had a wife and a child to support. His leg was amputated after he figured in a hit-and-run accident.  

Needless to say, cash aid inspired many Makatizens to join the community of online food sellers. Rinalyn Binongo of Barangay West Rembo shared on Facebook how she used the money as added capital to expand her online food selling business.  

“We’re very happy to have inspired a significant number of Makatizens to pursue businesses to grow their money amid the pandemic. GCash hopes to extend this kind of assistance to other local governments to help lift the burden of Filipinos who have been greatly impacted by COVID-19, economic or otherwise.” ~Luigi Reyes, GCash Vice President for Enterprise

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.

GCash is top finance app for Android, iOS for a more cashless Pinoys

“The national health situation has caused more Filipinos to be mindful of their personal finances. As a powerful tool that provides financial services to the masses, GCash is enabling its users to manage their personal finance better than traditional means. Due to uncertainties brought about by the national health situation and the limitations set by the government to help curb the spread of the virus, Filipinos are looking for various ways to address their personal finance concerns. GCash is here to provide them with the necessary financial tools and services that will help them in managing their finances. We have seen a huge growth in terms of volumes of transactions in our platform during the community quarantines. We saw people transacting with merchants physically through QR and Barcode and digitally through money transfers. We also saw a lot of people donating to causes, one of which is our native fundraising drive called #FightCOVID19. Our platform has empowered more people in taking care of their personal finances. This is a reflection of how Filipinos are growing more trusting of digital finance, which we believe will be a huge player in implementing the so-called ‘new normal.’ Financial technology will serve as the bedrock of digital services -- those that will empower Filipinos to do more with less.” ~Pebbles Sy, GCash Chief Technology and Operating Officer

As the pandemic continues to pose a threat to our normal ways of doing things, people are discovering and appreciating the importance and utility of digital platforms. GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the country is among the Top Free apps in the App Store and Google Play Store in the country. More and more and more Filipinos are going cashless.

More Filipinos have gone cashless during the pandemic with GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, emerging as the top finance app for both Android and iOS devices, reflecting the growing reliance of people on digital finance for the management of their personal finances. 

As of May 15, GCash was the only finance app in the top 10 list of free applications for Android. It also ranked fourth on the overall list of free mobile apps in Google Playstore. For iOS, GCash topped the finance division in the App Store and ranked second after Zoom Cloud Meetings on its free apps list. This shows how GCash has transformed from a convenient mobile wallet to a lifestyle app that enables Filipinos to do more with less, as they embrace the new normal. 

A white paper released by AdSpark, Inc., a portfolio company under Globe Telecom’s 917Ventures, showed that consumption of Personal Finances as a topic grew by 800 percent from January 2020 to end of March 2020 when most Filipinos were required to stay at home.

Global Web Index, which surveyed people on how they foresee the impact of the situation on their personal finances, found that 65 percent of Filipinos surveyed believed that the pandemic will have a huge impact on their personal finances, while 15.7 percent believe that the effect could be even greater. 

As a mobile wallet, GCash allows users to pay for their digital and physical transactions through the GCash app. GCash also allows users to pay their bills, buy airtime load, and transfer funds to any GCash account or to other banks. 

GCash saw app installations grow by 2x during the community quarantine, while registrations rose by 2.5x, and app referrals increased by another 2x. 

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.

Users may also avail of GCash’s savings service, GSave, which offers better-than-industry interest rates; GCredit, which allows them to tap into a credit line for emergencies; invest in money market funds; and GCash Insurance, which allows them to avail of very affordable insurance plans.

MoneyGram and GCash Mobile Wallet Partnership in the Philippines

“With the growing number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) looking for a reliable way to send money back home, the collaboration with GCash aligns with our strategy to provide user-friendly, rapid-response and low-cost channels to send money across borders. The expansion of digital channels combined with a strong network of agent locations enables MoneyGram to offer a differentiated customer experience that allows consumers to transact with us their way.” ~Alex Holmes, MoneyGram’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

The collaboration of new technologies and amid money transfers convenient and best expensive this has been in response to the customers need for compelling only chance services that would allow us to transact anyway and anywhere they want. Now brands like GCash and also MoneyGram are enhancing the compliance processes and systems to provide the customers with the best experience and the highest standard for the MoneyGram and GCash. Now there's a lot of compliance processes now that allow security to the customers both the recipient and senders so that's an amazing great news. And in the Philippines OFW and their families have a lot to celebrate as the largest partner of MoneyGrams customer group they have just been offered additional services a new direct send via GCash app recipients now will be able to receive money directly out heir mobile wallet and use funds immediately.

After the successful launch of direct receive service, MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) and GCash announced today that customers worldwide can now also send money to over 10 million GCash mobile wallets in the Philippines, 24/7. This partnership supports further growth of MoneyGram’s digital channels in the world’s third-largest remittances receive market.

Funds can be sent via MoneyGram online or at any one of MoneyGram’s thousands of locations in 200 countries and territories around the world to reach a GCash mobile wallet in minutes. Money will be deposited into the mobile wallet in the Philippine Peso. The receiver will get an SMS notification of every incoming money transfer and will be able to use funds instantly for purchasing goods and services online or paying bills.

“We are delighted to partner with MoneyGram once more to improve the way remittances are processed in the Philippines. GCash is committed to making the experience of sending money more convenient for both the sender and receiver. The OFWs and their families are a big segment of the remittance business as well as a key contributor to the country’s economy. We need to do more for them and we think this partnership with MoneyGram leads us in that direction.” ~Anthony Thomas, President, and CEO of Mynt, the operator of GCash

The launch of the new service was followed by a presentation of an OFW Family Card which allows customers to withdraw their money for free twice a month at any BancNet ATM in the Philippines. The OFW Family Card will be awarded to each registered and verified GCash user who receives a minimum of PHP 500.00 via MoneyGram between September 15 and December 30.

For more information about the service, please visit moneygram.ph.

About MoneyGram International

MoneyGram is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services and is recognized worldwide as a financial connection to friends and family. Whether online, or through a mobile device, at a kiosk or in a local store, we connect consumers any way that is convenient for them. We also provide bill payment services, issue money orders and process official checks in select markets. More information about MoneyGram International, Inc. is available at moneygram.com.

About GCash

GCash is an internationally-acclaimed micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer. GCash can be used to buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, make donations, shop online, and even purchase goods without the need to bring any cash. For more information, please visit https://www.globe.com.ph/gcash

About Mynt

Mynt is a partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial, that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its vision is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get microloans to business loans without the traditional requirements set by banks and other lending institutions. For more information, visit mynt.xyz.