THE pandemic forced digitalization even into the smallest spaces. A space as small as a wallet. This space is now dominated by GCash.
In January 2020, GCash reported about 20 million subscribers. That number is now 40 million as of April 2021 with the peak increases in subscription happening between March to August 2020–the height of the lockdowns and remote everything.
Though the pandemic-induced digital transformation quickened the take-up of fintech platforms, only GCash has innovated substantially, in offerings as well as in the backend, by introducing new in-app products and services to make managing finances easy, approachable, and accessible to its subscribers.
This was the focus of Futurecast 2021, where the fintech platform showcased upgrades on financial & lifestyle services via GCash. The mobile app not only allows its users to shop and pay, it has added savings, investments, getting insurance coverage, all by manipulating a few icons on the phone. The important keywords and phrases were often repeated in the presentations: frictionless user experience, enhanced convenience, speed, resiliency, greater access–all these replacing what usually meant filling out many forms or spending hours and hours in a queue.
“We want to make a real difference in the lives of every Filipino and break the existing boundaries to enable financial freedom. We envision a Philippines where people have equal access to financial opportunities and lifestyle choices, where everyone, whether rich or poor, has a chance to unlock and achieve their dreams,” Martha Sazon, President & Chief Executive Officer of GCash shared while emphasizing how extending the app capabilities to fit the lifestyle of its users, empower businesses and entrepreneurs across different enterprise sizes, and anchor the app’s ecosystem, partnerships, and capabilities to be a change agent and to commit to doing its part of nation-building.
Emphasized at Futurecast 2021 were GCash app resident innovations. GInvest, is a new easy investment that allows user to invest as little as P50 in professionally-managed local and global funds. GInsure, offers insurance for medical emergencies such as dengue, the dreaded COVID-19, and accidents for as low as P300. The features also offers financial assistance via “Cash For Medical Costs” and the recently launched “Cash For Income Loss due to any cause.”
For easy money management, GSave is the fully digital, secure, and hassle-free savings account that was built in partnership with CIMB Bank, wherein the only requirement to start is an ID and a smartphone. It’s fully accessible once the account is created; and has no maintaining balance, no fees, and no initial deposit. GCredit serves as a fully-verified user’s personal credit line within the app, with the ability to provide those with high GScores up to P30,000 credit line and up to 3 percent prorated interest rate; the earlier the due is paid, the lower the interest rate.
“At GCash we want to be able to democratize access to financial services. We aim to break down barriers of entry for Fillipinos and make them realize that saving, investing, or even insuring one’s finances can be accessible to all,” JF Darre, Head of Financial Services and Advanced Analytics of GCash shared at the virtual press conference.
Managing finances also means managing spending which is what GLife is for. It is an e-commerce feature that allows users to shop and avail themselves of exclusive deals from a wide array of merchants using the GCash payment system to settle purchases.
“Accessible right from the GCash dashboard, you can already enjoy more than 25 brands across retail, food, gaming, entertainment and transport. And we have more coming every week that will surely cover all your lifestyle needs,” Winsley Bangit, Chief Customer Officer of GCash explained.
And for entrepreneurs, GCash QR on Demand is a new and better way to securely send and receive money without having to worry about “wrong sends” due to incorrect numbers, or giving away personal information. GPadala is being developed to serve the needs of OFWs–using GCash as the platform and directly transacting via international remittance partners.
“We have great ambition for 2021 for MSMEs and Filipinos in every corner of the globe; we know how this whole sector will be more critical than ever for our economy, and GCash can make a real difference in this sensitive situation. People need it. The country needs it.” Fred Levy, Chief Commercial Officer of GCash shared.
GCash is one with the nation as it aligns itself with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This includes pursuing efforts beyond business results such as helping make financial literacy and education accessible for all.
Further plans include the Kaya Mo, GCash Mo Roadshow, the design and roll-out of Future-Ready Hackathons, and the launch of G NA! IDEAS Para Sa Pinas. This 2021, GCash continues to pursue collaborations to achieve even bigger things with efforts like GCash For Good and the GForest platform.
“At the end of the day, we will all go back to our core purpose– to help one another in times of need and indeed unlock our desired impact on the society as a whole,” Chito Maniago, GCash’s Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs concluded.
