E-Commerce made simple by Globe

Electronic money and e-commerce is still a little weird for me. It’s unusual to refer to a mobile phone or some gadget as a “wallet.” Transactions that involve sending out an SMS or swiping a device over a scanner are pretty cool, I guess; but these actions lack the physical reassurance of pulling out bills and handing them over the counter. There’s something psychological at play here, I know.

But not just that. Memorizing access codes and keywords gets pretty tedious. For example, you might get the codeword and the number you need to send it to right, but a simple misplaced hashtag or asterisk makes the transaction void. Then you get it wrong a second and third time and it feels like technology is just messing with you.

E-money, however, like all innovations, was created to make life easier. Its function meant that you didn’t have to leave home to buy the shirt or the games that you spotted online. Or you wouldn’t have to fall in line to pay bills; or have to pull out actual cash from your wallet to give as allowance. Convenience and a pleasurable experience: that’s what this e-money stuff is all about.

It gets even better now that Globe Telecom, through its wholly-owned subsidiary G-Xchange, Inc., has launched the new GCASH Mobile App for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. The new GCASH Mobile App is able to deliver on the three major e-cash transactions made by consumers today — namely purchases and payments, person-to-person (P2P) transactions, and domestic and international remittances. Expect to perform easier transactions with the app’s very simple and fun user interface.

“With the GCASH App, customers will enjoy a richer experience when doing GCASH transactions,” says Paolo Baltao, president of GXI, Inc. “Instead of just using SMS or the GCASH menu burnt on the Globe or TM SIM, subscribers can now do transactions via a more interactive, stylish, and user friendly manner. The GCASH app is an affirmation of our commitment to make it safe, easy, and convenient for our customers to use GCASH.”

Development of the infrastructure that accompanies the new GCASH App was no small feat. But Paolo says that this is one big idea that he and his team were ready and willing to take on. Creating the app itself took about two to three months, only because he and his people were discovering that they were able to add things that they initially thought they couldn’t.

The GCASH App isn’t only suitable for e-commerce needs. Other value added features like being able to make donations to your charity of choice, paying for food deliveries, paying bills, buying airtime load, and even topping up e-Pass and Easytrip passes for those who travel a lot on the major expressways. GCASH is present in 33 countries worldwide, and the arrival of the new app just makes thing easier. No more keywords and codes and “send to this number.”

“Thinking out of the box was really important here. We could not be limited by what we already knew about the technology or of e-commerce,” continues Paolo.

And feeling secure about GCASH is easier, now that it has a two-code security feature. It requires a mobile pin, and also that the SIM card the pin is registered to is in the phone. If someone gets your password, then they can’t access your GCASH account because they don’t have your sim/phone. If you lose your phone, your GCASH is still safe because the pin remains unknown. And the app automatically times out after a few minutes, requiring that you re-login. The only way someone can steal your GCASH is if you lose your phone and leave the pin in the battery housing. Which you won’t do, obviously.

It is also worth noting that the new GCASH App is a 100-percent proudly Filipino-made app. So far, aside from many apps from local government institutions and one game app that looks like a high-tech form of “Pinoy Henyo” using your smart phone, the GCASH App is the only Filipino e-commerce app available on iTunes, the Android Marketplace, and Balckberry Appworld.

So give it a shot. Want an easier, more understandable, hassle-free e-commerce experience? Download the GCASH app, and see if it works for you. And just so you know: there is a P100,000 credit limit per transaction. Go crazy! No, wait! Don’t.

To know more about GCASH, visit www.globe.com.ph/gcash.

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.

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