GCash gives big boost to BSP, DILG initiative with 40,000 Paleng-QR Ph-ready market stalls

PHOTO: From left: GCash head of distributive trade Mark Mamaril and chief commercial officer Renren Reyes; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Felipe Medalla, GCash chief compliance officer Atty. Cef Sison, GCash vice president and head of public sector and partnerships Lhen Pavia and Monetary Board member Peter Favila

The top Philippine e-wallet vows support for the program as its expands to more public markets.

In line with its vision of ‘Finance for All’, the Philippines’ leading mobile e-wallet, GCash, continues to expand to more public markets across the country – a show of strong support for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Paleng-QR Ph initiative, which aims to further boost financial inclusion in the country.

The initiative has recently piloted its national rollout in the Baguio City Public Market earlier in August this year. 

Aside from Baguio, GCash has already enabled over 40,000 vendors in various public markets across the country including the Bacolod Public Market, Pasig Mega Market, Super Iloilo Terminal Market, and the Biñan Public Market. They join GCash’s other 5.2 million merchants and social sellers who are already part of the platform – making the e-wallet have the biggest digital ecosystem in the country.

“More than just providing Filipinos a safe and efficient alternative payment option, We at GCash also have another goal in mind and that is to teach Filipinos the importance of having their own financial accounts. The time for our vendors, small entrepreneurs, and trike drivers to adapt to this new business model, and the time for them to enjoy the benefits of e-wallets and contactless payment is now,” said GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon.

With Paleng-QR Ph, market vendors and their customers will be encouraged to transact through digital payment platforms such as GCash using QR Codes. With this, both vendors and consumers are assured a safer and more seamless shopping experience – ultimately promoting the growth of the digital ecosystem, especially in the grassroots economy.

“We are optimistic that the implementation and adoption of Paleng-QR Ph will result in more market vendors and community shops accepting digital payments. We will see that indeed it would be easier for an average Filipino consumer to transition to cashless transactions,” BSP deputy governor Bernadette Romulo Puyat said. “What the paleng-QR hopes to achieve is to foster inclusive digital finance in our communities by capitalizing on the QRPh initiative. Adoption of digital payments will also lessen the need for available change and lessens the risk of the circulation of fake bills.”

The BSP has noted in a video that the Paleng-QR Ph initiative has four main benefits. It allows vendors to not worry about having loose change, helps both vendors and buyers avoid counterfeit bills, enables users to skip long lines for financial transactions, and keeps them away from being exposed to sickness like COVID-19.

Many public market-based vendors and entrepreneurs are already benefiting from the initiative. One vendor in the Pasig Mega Market, Angelito Adeza, shared that GCash has not only helped him serve his customers better but also allowed him to grow his business through the various financial technology solutions offered by the GCash app.

“Napakaganda talaga kasi bukod sa dito sila nagbabayad, pwede rin mag-load, send money, magbayad ng bills at mag-loan sa GCash,” said Adeza.

(“It’s really useful because aside from cashless payments, you can also use GCash to load prepaid mobile credits, send money, pay bills, and even borrow money.”)

Aside from market vendors, GCash has also been digitally empowering other micro to small entrepreneurs, tricycle drivers, farmers, and even fisherfolk, so that they can have access to a wide range of secure and relevant financial services like money transfer, savings, insurance, and affordable loans.

With over 66 million registered users to date, GCash continues to serve as a lifeline for Filipinos, providing real-time digital transactions, and safe, more secure, and convenient digital financial services such as Pay Bills, GCredit, GLoan, GGives – GCash’s ‘buy now, pay later’ product, GInsure – an insurance marketplace, and GLife – the latest lifestyle feature on the GCash app.

Inline with the goal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of Interior and Local Government for a more cash-lite society, GCash aims to aid the Philippines transition to a digital and financially inclusive country.

The GCash app is available for free on Google Play or the App Store.

For more information, visit https://www.gcash.com/. To know more about the Paleng-QR Ph initiative, visit GCash’s official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/gcashofficial) and watch this video at https://fb.watch/eYoD7DoN3Q/.