Cashless transactions spike due to quarantine protocols

CEBU, Philippines —  Mobile wallet enabler GCash reported a 700 percent surge in transactions in May 2020, owing to the ‘stay at home’ measure, which pushed people to take advantage of online payment systems.

“The pandemic has forced all of us to adopt to digital solutions such as GCash to protect us from contracting the virus. The steady uptrend on transactions using GCash shows that Filipinos are now being more dependent on digital solutions and they prefer to use the GCash platform to pay for these services,” said GCash President & CEO Martha Sazon.

Bank cash-in, which includes Instapay, and online payments to Google, Apple, Lazada, and various other merchants surged by 700 percent during the period over last year.

Since the start of the community quarantine, Filipinos have turned to digital services, given the physical distancing and strict health protocols imposed by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Online marketplaces have become busier, and businesses have set up their own digital storefronts to continue operations.

Food delivery and online grocery shopping have become very popular as well, and fund transfers through GCash, powered by Instapay, has likewise become a preferred mode of domestic remittance.

  “GCash is empowering Filipinos to do more with less through our best-in-class platform. Through GCash, we are helping stir up economic activity by bringing merchants and consumers closer, at least digitally,” added Sazon.

  Sazon said GCash has also powered the national government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP), allowing beneficiaries to use their GCash wallets to receive their financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Aside from this, GCash is also processing the financial aid of the local governments of Makati, Quezon City, and Pasig to disburse their own supplemental cash assistance to their residents.

  “All these have helped drive the unprecedented growth that we saw in May. We expect to continue riding this momentum, as we further innovate and enhance our offers to provide more digital financial services to Filipinos,” Sazon said.

Since last month, GCash has been the top finance app in both Android and iOS, and has consistently been included in the list of top apps next only to social media app TikTok and social conferencing app Zoom.