GCash expands scan-to-pay to Bench stores

MANILA, Philippines — Apparel brand Bench and Suyen Global Brands are expanding the use of the scan-to-pay feature of Globe Telecom Inc.’s mobile wallet service GCash to include all of its retail outlets nationwide beginning this month.

This is part of the group’s efforts to provide another payment option and make shopping more convenient.

In a statement, Globe said the GCash scan-to-pay feature could be used by scanning the Quick Response (QR) codes at the Bench stores.

GCash QR payments can also be used for making purchases at the stores of at least 39 other affiliated brands which include Paul Smith, American Eagle, The Face Shop, Aldo, Assembly, Aldo Accessories, Bench Body, Bench Fix Salon, Bench Kiosk, Bobbi Brown, Call It Spring, Cotton On, Cotton on Kids, Cath Kidston, Charles and Keith, Dimensione, Estee Lauder, Fox, Her Bench, Human, Jo Malone, Kashieca, La Senza, Maisen, Multibrand, Marugame, Mothercare, Origin, Pablo, Pedro, Paul, Personal Exchange, Repetto, Rubi, Skin Expert, St. Marc, Typo, Under Armour and Vero Moda.

“GCash is here to ensure that customers are given the convenience and security they deserve when paying for goods and services. With the GCash scan-to-pay feature, anyone with a GCash account and smartphone can easily pay the exact amount using their phone. There is no longer any need to wait for loose change or pay in smaller denominations, or even stand in line for along time,” Globe president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu said.

To use the GCash scan-to-pay feature, customers would need to download or update to the latest version of the GCash app, register for an account, and then load up their GCash wallets.

GCash users can go to any of the more than 12,000 GCash partner outlets nationwide, including Globe stores, Puregold branches, SM Business Centers, Robinsons Business Centers, 7-Eleven Barcode and Cliqq kiosks, TouchPay kiosks and pawnshops such as Cebuana Lhuillier, Villarica and Tambunting to load their account.

After loading the account, customers can pay by simply scanning the merchants’ QR code on their smartphones.

GCash users who will use the scan-to-pay feature at Bench and its other brands can enjoy a 30 percent cashback of up to P500 until Jan. 31 of this year.

GCash is being operated by Mynt, a company owned by Globe, Ant Financial and Ayala Corp.

At present, Globe said GCash dominates the country’s retail e-payment landscape as there are more than 4,000 GCash QRs being accepted in several merchants all over the country.

Those accepting GCash QR payments include the biggest players in the retail industry such as Ayala Malls, Robinsons Department Store, SM Malls, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Cinema, Puregold, Ministop and NCCC Malls.