Globe reports significant hike in GCash transactions

MANILA, Philippines - G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc., sees a significant increase in the monthly GCash transaction value of about $100 million per month as more and more Filipinos use the mobile commerce platform.

GXI president Paolo Baltao said in an interview with reporters during the relaunch of GCash that more mobile phone subscribers conduct mobile commerce transactions such as purchase and payments, person-to-person transactions as well as domestic and international remittances.

Baltao said the average value of transaction amounting to $100 million per month is expected to increase significantly as GCash introduce more services including the GCash Mobile App for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

He pointed out that the bulk or about 50 percent to 60 percent of the monthly transactions are accounted for loading mobile phones due to the 10-percent rebate while about 15 percent to 20 percent are accounted for by remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Latest data showed that OFW remittances climbed 5.1 percent to hit $10.128 billion in the first half of the year from $9.636 billion in the same period last year.

According to Baltao, GCash has emerged as the most preferred mode of payment for Internet shoppers who prefer quick and hassle free transactions.

He pointed out that Individual Filipino online sellers particularly in Multiply, Sulit.com, or Ayos.ph as well as online shopping sites like CashCash Pinoy, Zalora, and Metrodeal, among others have started offering GCash as payment option together with other traditional methods.

He disclosed that the list would be expanded to include Amazon, among others to cover a wide range of sites.

When paying online, he said GCash users only need to select GCash from the payment selection window and they would be asked to key in their GCash registered mobile number and GCash MPIN for transaction verification.

“With the new GCash, online shoppers don’t have to worry if they ran out of money in their GCash wallet as they can now enjoy free cash-in to buy items from any individual sellers using,” he added.

As payment mode, he explained that GXI would charge P10 for every P1000 or any amount in excess while buying load and paying bills via GCASH are free of airtime and service charge as well.

Baltao said the new GCash App would allow users to send money not only to their phone and email contacts but to their Facebook friends as well.