THE mobile wallet arm of Globe Telecom Inc. has breached the 3-million customer mark, and is now processing more than a billion pesos worth of transactions per week, a company official said.
John M. Rubio, who sits as president at Globe Fintech Innovations Inc., said GCash now has “3 million registered users, and is doing well over P1 billion worth of transactions per week.”
“A significant portion of that is active annually, as well as monthly,” he said in an interview late Wednesday.
GCash is an internationally acclaimed micropayment service, which transforms a mobile phone into a virtual wallet for safe, secure and hassle-free mobile-money transactions. It 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.
Through GCash, customers no longer need to own a credit card or even have a bank account to make financial and e-commerce transactions. Instead, they can turn their mobile phone into a virtual wallet to pay at the speed of a text message.
GCash recently partnered with digital payments provider PayPal to provide freelancers and businesses with a faster and more convenient way to withdraw their PayPal funds.
Through the said deal, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) business owners and freelancers can now transfer and withdraw their PayPal funds at no additional charge by simply linking their PayPal accounts to their GCash accounts. Funds can then be withdrawn from their GCash account within a day. GCash President Albert Tinio said the collaboration provides an “efficient solution customized to place more financial control into the hands of MSME business owners and freelancers by providing quicker access to their cash flow and capital”.
“We know the footprint of local MSMEs in the digital economy is continuously expanding, and we understand the needs and demands of our customers. Given this, we knew embarking in this partnership is a true testament to our commitment in making businesses flourish,” he said.
Traditionally, MSMEs and freelancers who have transferred their PayPal funds to their bank accounts may only be able to withdraw their funds after several days. They may also be charged corresponding transfer and withdrawal fees.
Through this partnership, customers will be able to transfer their available PayPal balance at zero- withdrawal fees and gain access to their funds within 24 hours.
“PayPal has always been a strong supporter of freelancers and MSMEs. We help them gain access to over 200 markets via our global platform, and we provide them with a truly global, end-to-end solution by collaborating with strong local payment partners such as GCash,” said Rohan Mahadevan, senior vice president at PayPal Asia Pacific.
He added: “This solution with GCash will provide our Filipino customers with a quicker and more convenient way to withdraw and utilize payments received from overseas.”