GCash to tap growing ‘gig economy’

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Innovations Inc. (Mynt) plans to tap on the country’s growing “gig economy” which is being fueled by freelancers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“Most of our businesses are micro-businesses, and the gig economy is alive and well. A lot of opportunity comes from freelancers or businesses that employ just a few people. GCash could be a very convenient disbursement platform for them,” Mynt president and chief executive officer Anthony Thomas said.

Mynt, through mobile wallet GCash, provides an efficient end-to-end payroll to payout solution for Filipinos operating outside the usual employment schemes, he said.

GCash also allows payment acceptance through QR transactions, and InstaPay transfers, which lets users send money to any banks in the Philippines for free.

“We make it very easy to accept payments offline through QR codes, or online with minimum to no cost so entrepreneurs, small businesses and freelancers can really focus on what they need to do rather than worrying about administrative problems in their lives and businesses,” he said.

With its 20-million user base composed mostly of young working Filipinos, Mynt said GCash has tailored its mobile financial platform to fuel the growth of the country’s gig economy.

 Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Mynt said the Philippines has one of the youngest workforces in Asia and is an emerging hub for social entrepreneurs, numbering nearly 165,000, and online freelancers, estimated to be around 1.5 million.

Self-employed Filipinos make up 26.9 percent of the country’s 41.2 million labor force, the second biggest category of employed workers.

However, the company said financial inclusion remains a challenge as two out of three Filipinos do not have access to bank accounts, and nine out of 10 do not have access to loan credit.

“We’re not stopping at just creating payment convenience in your day-to-day lives. We are ultimately a financial services platform where we collaborate with lenders, asset managers, banks, and insurance companies.