GCash says no funds lost amid complaints of unauthorized transactions

MANILA, Philippines — Digital wallet platform GCash said on Tuesday that there was “no fund loss” in the wake of alleged unauthorized transactions that some users faced. 

“We’d like to reassure everyone that there’s no fund loss,” said Gilda Maquilan, company vice president for corporate communications. This was what the GCash senior official said in an early Tuesday morning interview with DZMM Teleradyo. 

“For those who were inconvenienced, the amount will be reflected in their accounts. Give us until 3 pm today,” Maquilan added.

The users of the Ayala-backed fintech platform trooped to social media to air their frustration, as some allegedly reported unauthorized transactions that funnelled their money from the digital wallet to certain bank accounts affiliated with East West Bank and Asia United Bank. 

The social media firestorm led to some calls for users to withdraw their funds from the digital wallet giant’s platform.

As it is, the app went into maintenance to conduct an investigation which, GCash said, found that there was "no hacking occured". Access to the app has been restored to all users as of reporting.

Maquilan reiterated that they were confident that by 3 pm on Tuesday, the funds will be returned to GCash users. 

GCash has yet to respond to Philstar.com’s request for more comment. 

GCash’s fortunes skyrocketed, as did other fintech platforms, as the pandemic accelerated the Philippine economy adapting cashless transactions as a viable alternative for commerce. — Ramon Royandoyan