GCash launches new microfinance service

MANILA, Philippines - Globe G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) has introduced new mobile banking services to help expand microfinance activities for rural banks and GCash users. GXI is a subsidiary of Globe Telecom.

The GCash Powerpay+ Card is an automated teller machine (ATM) card for banks for improved mobile money-enabled payroll services for local companies in their areas.

The new service not only provides payroll recipients with an ATM card linked to the GCash wallet but also bundles life, accidental death, burial, ATM theft and residential fire insurance coverage.

The card can be customized for the rural banks wishing to offer payroll services, thereby giving rural banks the chance to compete with larger commercial banks.

In addition, employees using the service will have two free BancNet or MegaLink ATM withdrawals a month.

Globe also launched smartphone applications that can be used on any Android, Blackberry or iPhone models.

These new applications dramatically enhance the user experience by bringing easier functionality using GCash, since everything will be menu or touchscreen enabled.

GXI’s new smartphone applications aim to make financial transactions enjoyable, simple and easy.

The new features also allow users to transfer money to Facebook contacts, which will automatically send the recipient a private message, or to contacts on the phone list.

The telco also entered into a unique partnership with American Express (AMEX).

The new GCash-AMEX partnership will allow rural bank clients who are GCash users to purchase products directly from the United States or the United Kingdom and have them shipped to the Philippines, giving them substantial savings compared to buying locally.

The options are limitless – from TVs through Best Buy, to books on Amazon, to clothes from an online store – the new GCash-AMEX partnership allows users to make significant purchases using their mobile wallet.

Even smartphone apps from iTunes or the Android Market can be purchased using GCash without the need to have a credit card.

Looking at available data, roughly 65 percent of all new phones purchased in the Philippines last year were smartphones.

Globe said that the smartphone market has expanded and that developing applications was the next innovative step to bring new services and products.

GXI has partnered with more than 70 rural banks to use GCash to facilitate mobile money enabled banking transactions. These banks have already processed more than P16 billion in banking transactions.