GCash to expand to Middle East

MANILA, Philippines — Mobile wallet giant GCash is looking to expand to the Middle East this year.

G-Xchange Inc. chief executive officer Oscar Reyes Jr. told reporters they intend to  make the Globe-backed e-wallet available in the Middle East.

“There are many Filipinos in the Middle East. So we really want to be able to serve them,” he said.

He said an application has been filed with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the company hopes to secure clearance within the year.

Earlier this month, the mobile wallet announced that it expanded to Europe, enabling users to use the app in countries like the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy.

To make purchases using the app in these European destinations, GCash users will need to look for the Alipay+ logo at the checkout.

Among the key merchants and stores that can accept GCash via Alipay+ are Harrods, Liberty London and Harvey Nichols in the UK; Printemps in France; Müller and dm-drogerie markt in Germany; as well as it Taxi and IVS Group, the leader in vending machines market, in Italy.

At present, GCash can also be used in select merchants in other countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Qatar.

The app can also be used with international numbers in the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy and Australia.

Asked about plans for an initial public offering, Reyes said the company wants to be push-button ready.

“The important thing is we are IPO-ready as a company. We need to make sure that all the businesses are doing well and everything internally is working really well, compliance as well and all of these things to make sure when we go to market, it becomes well received,” he said.