Visa, GCash tie-up boosts financial inclusion in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The partnership between global digital payments platform Visa and finance super app GCash is seen boosting financial inclusion in the country by giving unbanked Filipinos access to the benefits of owning a payment card.

Jeff Navarro, country manager for the Philippines and Guam at Visa,  said the partnership paves the way for  better financial inclusion as it provides the GCash Card to Filipinos.

“With the card’s contactless capability, it enables Filipino shoppers, especially those who don’t usually pay with cards, to shop conveniently and securely, joining millions around the world who have been tapping to shop, dine, and travel,” Navarro said.

G-Xchange president and CEO Ren-Ren Reyes said the GCash Card could be used  to shop securely online on their favorite websites and apps as well as in physical retail stores by tapping or inserting the card in terminals.

“GCash is giving every Filipino, whoever or wherever they are, the benefits of owning a card, especially those with no bank accounts or documents typically required to apply for a card. These include Filipinos with informal sources of incomes like freelancers and independent professionals as well as micro and small enterprises,” Reyes said.

The new GCash Card provides more Filipinos access to another cashless payment option that they could use for their everyday expenses like groceries, restaurants, and transportation.

“The new card powered by Visa unlocks more payment options for GCash users as they can use it at over 100 million merchants in the Philippines and across the world,” Reyes said.

Any fully verified user can now order their own GCash Card powered by Visa through the app, without additional documents or approvals.

The launch of GCash Card’s aim is “Dahil Kaya All with the Card for All,” providing Filipinos with numerous benefits similar to those enjoyed by those with bank accounts, such as quick ATM withdrawals locally and abroad.

Powered by Visa’s global reach, the card could also be used for payments overseas in over 200 countries and territories, at over 100 million merchants.

This gives traveling GCash Card users and overseas Filipinos another secure and convenient way of paying abroad.

Users who have availed of the GCash Card will also have access to GInsure, where they could get free insurance of up to P20,000 coverage for unauthorized transactions for the first 30 days after activation.

This also includes the P185 price for card replacement in the event of accidental loss or damage to the card, as well as the shipping fee of up to P225.

Under the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) aims to increase the number of banked Filipino adults to 70 percent by 2023. The number of banked Filipino adults almost doubled to 56 percent in 2021 from 29 percent in 2019.