MAKATI, PHILIPPINES -The city government of Makati City, in collaboration with Globe Telecom, its subsidiary G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), and iBayad Online Ventures Inc., today launched the Makatizen Card which will be made available to Makati’s residents and employees.

The Makatizen Card will allow the city’s 500,000 residents to access city government services and transact with the city government. They can receive cash allowances, stipends, and other cash benefits using their Makatizen Card. They can also use their cards to pay fees and taxes, as well as for personal remittances and other financial transactions. City government employees, on the other hand, can use their Makatizen Card to receive salaries and allowances. The Makatizen Card also functions as an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Card and is a valid government ID card.

Some 1,000 functioning sample cards were launched and tested at Makati City Hall this morning and Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said the Makatizen Card collaboration with Globe, GCash, and iBayad “takes us a step nearer to achieving our goal of empowering everyone, including those in the marginalized sectors of society, to enjoy a better quality of life.”

Mayor Binay noted that the Makatizen Card goes beyond providing Makati citizens with instant access to essential services of the city government, which in itself is a major leap forward for the city. She adds that “the wide range of digital and mobile services offers the people of Makati more convenient and cost-effective ways of meeting their day-to-day needs and obligations,” she said.

The mayor said the city government will extend its full support for Globe Telecom’s initiatives “geared towards strengthening its telecommunications network to promote a digitally-connected Philippines.”

“With confidence and optimism, we view this unsolicited project proposal from Globe, GCash, and iBayad as the springboard for the rapid transformation of Makati into the country’s first digital city, where citizens and civil servants are able to experience the optimum benefits of the latest innovations in information technology,” she added.

“For the Philippines to truly become a digital nation, we need to fully take advantage of new digital opportunities and innovations to enable growth in every corner of our country. We laud the vision of the Makati City government whose support of this initiative is critical to build the city-wide digital ecosystem, a step towards the realization of our dream for the Philippines to become an admired nation,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

Globe has been ramping up network investments in a bid to amplify benefits of its new spectrum assets and enhance mobile services particularly for data. The company has announced a capital spend of $750 million for the year in an effort to continuously improve mobile and data services. Globe is also aggressively building on its fiber broadband services, aiming to create an internet super highway nationwide. The company aims to deploy fiber optics in 20,000 barangays by 2020 which will provide ultra-fast internet access to around 2 million homes nationwide.

Globe Business, the enterprise information and communications technology (ICT) arm of Globe, is leading the way in encouraging local government units like Makati City to adopt the integration of ICT and governance as a means of improving the delivery of government services and exchange of information. The said initiative supports Globe’s drive to transform the Philippines into a digital nation by instilling the importance of eGovernance to offices ranging from the local government units up to the national government.

One of the capabilities derived from an improved mobile and broadband infrastructure is the creation of a city-wide cashless ecosystem wherein e-payment methods such as e-money and debit/credit cards are utilized instead of physical cash. This will benefit not only the residents but also schools, hospitals, government offices, transportation facilities, and other micro, small, and medium-size enterprises.

GXI will serve as the financial service provider for the Makatizen Card while iBayad will deploy the mPOS terminals and build the merchant network where the cards will be accepted.

The Makatizen Card is a valid government-issued ID that comes with a Near-Field Communication (NFC) feature that allows city offices equipped with iBayad machine readers to verify the identity of residents and Makati City employees in a single tap. It stores the information which easily identifies the card holder availing of various city government services without the need to present additional documents.

“Each Makatizen Card carries the features of the GCash mobile wallet but is also customized to be used in the city-wide local merchant network. All services that they will get in Makati City, whether it is payment of taxes, cash allowances for health and other benefits, etc. will be directly credited to this GCash wallet that is linked to the card. They don’t have to carry anything except this ID and their mobile phone,” said Albert Tinio, President of GXI which operates GCash mobile money service.

On the other hand, iBayad Founder and CEO Paolo G. Saycon said: “For us, the Makatizen Card Project is as much a social endeavour, as it is a business venture. This undertaking is aligned with iBayad’s purpose of developing socially relevant and meaningful financial innovations that will transform the way people pay. Our objective is to accelerate the adoption and transformation of every consumer’s traditional spending behaviour from cash-centric to electronic payments.”

Makatizen Card holders can take advantage of the different financial services of GCash through the merchant network of iBayad to pay government institutions, hospitals, merchants and even transact with Jollijeeps, sari-sari stores, and ambulant vendors for easier and safer transactions.

As an additional benefit for Makati City residents and employees, iBayad will be implementing the “Makatizen Loyalty and Rewards Program” to promote continued use of the card and for them earn loyalty reward points that can used to purchase items. The card will also be used for direct and real-time crediting of salaries and benefits to the GCash wallets of employees, health beneficiaries, senior citizens, and students to improve operational efficiency and tracking of cash flow.

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For more information, please contact:

GLOBE TELECOM
Email Address: gtcorpcomm@globe.com.ph
Globe Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-room
Twitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph

iBAYAD
Website: www.ibayad.com

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – PayPal, a global leader in digital payments, and GCash, an internationally acclaimed micro payment service provided by Globe, announced today their collaboration to provide freelancers and businesses with a faster and more convenient way to withdraw their PayPal funds.

Micro and small to medium-sized enterprise (MSME) business owners and freelancers can now transfer and withdraw their PayPal funds at no additional charge by simply linking their PayPal accounts to their GCash accounts. Funds can then be withdrawn from their GCash account within a day[1].

With growing internet penetration and high mobile engagement in the Philippines, more Filipino mobile users are quick to adopt and embrace new mobile technology and services. Globe Telecom’s mobile wallet service GCash complements PayPal’s global reach by providing MSMEs and freelancers the platform to receive payment from overseas and withdraw funds locally via a MasterCard branded card. The collaboration between GCash and PayPal thus provides an efficient solution customized to place more financial control into the hands of MSME business owners and freelancers by providing quicker access to their cash flow and capital.

Traditionally, MSME business owners and freelancers who have transferred their PayPal funds to their bank accounts may only be able to withdraw their funds after several days. They may also be charged corresponding transfer and withdrawal fees. Through this partnership, customers will be able to transfer their available PayPal balance at zero withdrawal fees and gain access to their funds within 24 hours.

“PayPal has always been a strong supporter of freelancers and MSMEs. We help them gain access to over 200 markets via our global platform, and we provide them with a truly global, end-to-end solution by collaborating with strong local payment partners such as GCash. This solution with GCash will provide our Filipino customers with a quicker and more convenient way to withdraw and utilize payments received from overseas,” said Dr. Rohan Mahadevan, CEO for PayPal Pte Ltd and SVP for PayPal Asia Pacific.

By linking their PayPal account to their GCash account, users are now able to access their balances through the GCash app. Users can then transfer their available PayPal balance to their GCash account and withdraw it through their GCash MasterCard at over 20,000 BancNet ATMs located across the Philippines and over 12,000 Globe Partner Outlets (GPOs) nationwide within the same day[2].

“We look forward to expanding our reach to provide FinTech to the users of both PayPal and GCash,” said Albert Tinio, President & CEO of G-Xchange Inc. (GCash). “We know that the footprint of local MSMEs in the digital economy is continuously expanding, and we understand the needs and demands of our customers. Given this, we knew that embarking in this partnership is a true testament to our commitment in making businesses flourish,” Tinio added.

As part of the collaboration, in the upcoming weeks GCash and PayPal will be giving away free GCash MasterCards to customers who make a funds transfer from their PayPal account to their GCash account. To redeem the free GCash MasterCard, users will need to go to GCash stations within select SM outlets. Stay tuned to GCash’s FB page for further details when the promo becomes officially available.

For more details about the service and for the step-by-step guide on how to link your PayPal account to GCash and withdraw funds, visit: http://www.globe.com.ph/gcash/paypal.

Manila, Philippines – In a bid to further push financial inclusion in the country, Globe Telecom, Cebuana Lhuillier, and Mynt inked a memorandum of agreement that will pave the way for several initiatives combining the products and services of the three companies.

The tripartite partnership was signed by Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu, Cebuana Lhuillier President & CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, and G-Xchange President Albert Tinio. G-Xchange is a subsidiary of Globe Telecom’s wholly-owned financial services unit Mynt.

“The idea is to disrupt the traditional banking system of having to personally go to a bank, fill out forms, fall in line, and pay for bills or deposit money. This initiative will create an avenue for the companies to leverage on each other’s strengths and capabilities to create a better financial system for the consumers,” said Cu.

Meanwhile, Lhuillier stated, “This undertaking is a great opportunity to address the financial concerns of many Filipinos, especially those in unbanked and underbanked communities which is very aligned to what we do as a company. I am glad that Cebuana Lhuillier, together with Globe and Mynt, is taking this big step to revolutionize the way we serve our mutual clients. I am certain that this partnership will positively impact the lives of many individuals.”

Most of the initiatives involve GCash, a micro-payment service operated by G-Xchange. Already commercially available, one of the projects allows GCash customers to perform cash-in and cash-out transactions in any of Cebuana Lhuillier’s 1,800 branches nationwide. Also being developed are systems that would enable GCash accounts to submit payments for Fuse loans and accept proceeds of international remittance. Other projects in the works include the vice versa conversion of rewards points under the loyalty programs of Globe and Cebuana Lhuillier, cross-selling of Cebuana Lhuillier’s microinsurance product, development of donation channels for Cebuana Lhuillier’s chosen beneficiaries, real-time posting of Globe Bills, reselling of Globe AMAX – a mass market postpaid product, and other innovations that that would make financial services more conveniently available.

In addition to the commercially available products and services, the partnership will also yield business-to-business solutions and other initiatives catering to internal stakeholders.

During the official announcement of the partnership, all three companies emphasized the need for innovative offerings, the value of convergence, and the importance of technology in order to achieve financial inclusion.

Globe is a telecommunications company with a mobile subscriber base of about 65 million, while Cebuana Lhuillier is a micro-financial institution that has over 1,800 branches in the Philippines, and Mynt is a FinTech startup wholly-owned by Globe and offers a range of key financial services.

Mynt, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, is leveraging on the immense popularity of cellular phones in offering a one-stop shop for financial services to boost financial inclusion among Filipinos.

At present, mobile penetration in the Philippines has already reached 113 percent as compared to banking penetration of only 31 percent.  In fact, three-out-of-four Filipinos aged 15 and above do not have bank accounts while 95 percent do not have credit cards.

Continue reading “Mynt to serve as one-stop shop for financial services using every Pinoy’s mobile phone” →

There is a new breed of Filipino travelers, those who prefers do-it-yourself vacations and diy travel itineraries on a budget. One thing that unites these travelers are promo fares like piso fare launches.

There was a piso fare promo from both Cebu Pacific Air and Air Asia Zest early days of March, and online traffic slammed the two booking websites to crawling speed until the airline sites becomes inaccessible.

Continue reading “Apply for GCash and GCash Mastercard, Use This To Pay For Online Ticket Booking” →