Pinabilis, Pinamura and Pinadali! A new take on local remittances with the help of GCash Padala

Leading mobile wallet and digital payment solutions provider GCash is extending a new remittance service feature to its more than 40 million active consumers, which will also be accessible to all non-app users.

Empowering more Filipinos With Accessible Finance Services, Now Available To Even Non-GCash Users Across The Country

The new feature called ‘GCash Padala’ is a more affordable, faster, and easier way which allows Filipinos without any e-wallet account to receive money in real time anywhere in the Philippines via the GCash app. It allows you to save time and money from physically going to a remittance center to send money to your loved ones away from home, because now you can do it straight from your phone. For your family members, they can now also claim their padala faster because they receive their money almost instantly, in as fast as 1-minute, through the app itself, free of charge. It boasts one of the lowest remittance rates versus its competition, charging up to as low as a 1% remittance fee. The remittance experience is easier too, allowing users to send to non GCash users and only requiring receivers to showcase 1 Valid ID to claim transactions through its 2,000 partners nationwide.

GCash Chief Customer Officer, Winsley Bangit, said the new feature will benefit not only the growing regular customers of GCash, but also those who remain reluctant of getting into the financial technology (fintech) market. “GCash Padala is one way of making our services available to those who have not yet downloaded the GCash app. Pinabilis, Pinamura, at Pinadali. Our reasonable fees for processing remittances through GCash Padala can hopefully help us stay competitive in the financial services market,” Bangit said.

To access the service, the sender logs into the GCash app, selects “Send Money,” and taps the “GCash Padala” option. A user interface pops up next where the sender will key in the intended recipient’s full name, mobile number, and the amount of money to be sent. Afterwards, the sender has to confirm the transaction and pay for it using existing funds from his GCash account to send the money successfully. A notification with reference number of the transaction, and other detailed information, will be sent via text message to both the sender and the recipient in real-time as soon as the process has been completed.

GCash has partnered with outlets such as Posible, Go VIP, Tambunting and Panalo Express centers, among others—including local sari-sari stores—to serve as authorized “pera outlets” in rolling out its remittance services to the public. Service fees for GCash remittances go as low as 1% for a minimum remittance amount of 500 php, this is cheaper compared to banks and other money transfer outlets providing similar services in the market.

Bangit ensures GCash services remain safe and easy to use for all types of cashless digital transactions under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) regulations. With GCash Padala, the company aims to secure its position as the number one e-wallet and mobile financial services provider in the Philippines.

According to a 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey by the BSP, around 27 million Filipinos are sending domestic remittances; 1.4 million of whom are using GCash for these transactions, based on a separate survey conducted by the GCash team.

The fintech industry has enjoyed exponential growth over the years, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as more customers preferred to pay for products and services made online—and sometimes even offline—through their mobile wallets. GCash wants to capitalize on this momentum. It plans to further sustain consumer engagements with its products by leveraging on celebrity influence through video stunts, maximizing digital advertising, trade merchandise and caravan visits.

Bringing GCash Padala outlets down to the barangay level through neighborhood sari-sari store owners enables more customers to avoid the hassle of taking a day off and going so far just to send and receive remittances. “With GCash, anyone can not only send and receive money, but also buy autoload and pay their bills online. You can transmit and take out cash anytime through your neighborhood sari-sari store owner who has a GCash application on his or her smartphone,” Bangit adds.

Sari-sari store sellers may earn up to Php10,000 a month for participating as GCash ‘pera outlets.’ GCash has already been offering free cash-in services to its authorized agents nationwide for amounts of Php8,000 and more.

GCash is owned and operated by Mynt, formerly Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., and a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, Inc. Last year, it exceeded its targets with transaction values hitting over P1-trillion. It recorded a Php7.5-billion daily gross transaction value in 2020 with more than six million transactions per day, including cash-ins, payments, banking, and money transfers, among others.

For more information about this product, as well as details on existing GCash padala partners, consumers can visit the following links:

• GCash Link: go.gcash.com/padala
• GCash Website: www.gcash.com/services/padala
• GCash List of Partners: www.gcash.com/partners/padala
• Read more about Globe Telecom: www.globe.com.ph