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.
“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,” GCash chief technology and operating officer Pebbles Sy said.
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.
“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,” Sy said.
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.
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.
“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,” Sy said.
GCash saw app installations grow by 2x during the community quarantine, while registrations rose by 2.5x, and app referrals increased by another 2x.
“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,” Sy said.
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/.