The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely accelerated digital transformation in the past 2 years and pushed the financial industry to adapt. In the Philippines, it has also forced a number of people to turn to digital means of doing business — from carrying out their shopping chores online to paying bills, making bank transactions as well as sending money electronically to others.
According to a survey conducted recently by global analytics software firm FICO, it was found that 56% of Filipino consumers preferred to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardships, while 12% used Internet banking. It also found that a large number of adult Filipinos remain underbanked with the Philippines experiencing low financial services penetrations and alternative payment services.
While the use of mobile wallets certainly has its advantages since it allows users to easily make in-store payments as well as transfer and receive money digitally without physical bank cards or bank visits, its use was also touted to have a long-lasting effect on the country’s financial sector.
In an article posted recently on the website of IBS Intelligence (IBSi), the world’s only pure-play Financial Technology focused research, advisory, and news analysis company, the firm cited three digital wallets that it says could cause disruption in the financial sector. These are BPI Globe BanKO, GCash, and Pay Maya.
Below are excerpts from the IBSi report detailing how the three digital wallets mentioned above could be disrupting, in a positive way, the Philippines’ financial sector:
BPI Globe BanKO Inc. (BanKO) is the first mobile-based, microfinance-focused savings bank in the Philippines. Established in July 2009 by BPI, Globe, and Ayala Corporation, it aims to provide the low-income segment with secure and convenient access to affordable financial services by leveraging its combined assets and infrastructure in banking and telecommunications.
BanKO’s mission is to provide financial inclusion to the country’s unbanked and extend access to formal financial services. With its combined expertise in banking and telecommunications, BanKO may eventually be used to deliver a powerful microfinance platform for sustainable social development.
Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.) is a leader in mobile financial services that’s focused on accelerating financial inclusion through mobile money, financial services, and technology. Mynt operates two FinTech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get microloans and business loans.
GCash is an e-wallet app in the Philippines regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Through the app, users can send and receive money instantly and pay bills to over 400+ billers. Users can also make payments at physical stores that are partnered with GCash. Furthermore, GCash is affiliated with American Express Virtual Pay, allowing users to make local and international purchases online.
PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines, with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government.
It provides more than 41 million Filipinos with access to financial services through its consumer platforms. Customers can easily pay, add money, cash out, or make a remittance through its over 380,000 digital touchpoints nationwide.
PayMaya’s Smart Padala network of over 60,000 partner agent touchpoints also serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing access to digital services for the unbanked and underserved. Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country.