Archive for the ‘Banking & Finance’ Category
Makatizen Card Launched – Makati to become Country’s First Connected City
The Makati City government launched yesterday the Makatizen Card which will allow the city’s 500,000 residents to access city government services and transact with the LGU – receive cash allowances, stipends, and other benefits – while allowing the cardholders to pay fees and taxes, remittances, and other financial transactions. The Makatizen Card also functions as an ATM card and is considered as a valid government ID card. The Card is in collaborations with Globe Telecom, GCash (G-Xchange Inc. or GXI), and iBayad Online Ventures.
Around 1,000 functioning sample Makatizen Cards were given out and tested yesterday morning. Beside the city residents, Makati City government employees can use their Makatizen Card to receive salaries and allowances.
The Makatizen Card 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.
GXI (GCash) 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.
Makati Mayor Abigail Binay: “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. 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.”
Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO: “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.”
Albert Tinio, President of GXI (GCash): “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.”
iBayad Founder and CEO Paolo G. Saycon: “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.”
More on Globe Telecom
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.
The Makatizen Card is a product of the Makati City government, Globe Telecom, GCash (GXI) and iBayad, as part of the thrust of Makati City to be the first connected city.
_
Source: Press release from Globe Telecom Corporate Communications
Photos from source.
Title photo caption: (L-R): Makati City Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo; SVP for Enterprise Peter Maquera; Chief Commercial Officer Albert de Larrazabal; Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu; Makati City Mayor Abby Binay; GXI President Abet Tinio; Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza; iBayad CEO Paulo Saycon.
_
Money Grows on Trees, The Book Launch
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested to attend a book launch at Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City (this afternoon) on April 22nd. I asked what the book title is. “Money Grows on Trees,” he quipped. I hesitated with “Umm… we’ll see.” A week later, he came back to me to ask me again. Being my good friend, I agreed. It turned out, I didn’t regret it.
I made my way up through the escalators of Fully Booked until I reached the fourth floor, then up the stairs to the enclosed roof deck where the book launch was going to happen. There was probably seating for a hundred or more in the main hall, with the foyer set up with a food table, selling of the book and a previous edition entitled, “I Wish They Taught Money in School (So I Can Start My Own Business Right Away)”, a Sun Life Insurance booth, and the registration tables. I saw the word “Bloggers” labeled onto a makeshift place card and walked to it. A nice woman asked me to register. My friend, who I hitched a ride with to Fully Booked, introduced me to one of the authors, Sharon Que, who pointed me to another part of the registration area to get my goody-bag – her two books, a notepad and a bookmark.
When the event was midway, I was surprised that the hundred-plus seating capacity was almost filled up. Wow! This is one of the most attended book launches I’ve ever gone to. The daughter of a Filipino magnate was there; even Alice Dixson was there.
Sharon Que and Clarissa de la Paz are co-authors of the 104-page book entitled “Money Grows on Trees.” It’s quite different that each author had half of the book written by one, then flip the book upside down and the other author’s writing begins. Their previous book, “I Wish They Taught Money in School” is 148 pages, longer than their second book. During their presentation, they mentioned it took them 90 days to finish their second book. How prepared they were when they started is something I missed hearing.
Clearly, each one gave their reasons for writing the first and second books. They were advocates of vision boards and showed the audience what each of theirs looked like. “Passive income” and “achieve your dreams” were a few of the phrases mentioned. At those instances, I was attentive (I was busy taking a few photos and sharing them in social media – what a digital nut I am; really!), I heard Sharon say she and other business partners bought a building with only ₱60,000 cash on hand.
I fell in line to have both first and second books autographed by Sharon and Clarissa, with a photo op, of course. Mind you, the snacks they prepared for all the attendees were filling – five or six pieces of one-fourth sandwiches, chips, popcorn and juice. Cool!
Writing both books all boiled down to their advocacy of teaching financial literacy to the public, financial freedom and independency – through their books. They have a website, www.lifestyleupgrade101.com or Lifestyle Upgrade 101, where their books are sold online. The regular retail price of the second book is ₱400.
“Do I have time to read it?” Aww, c’mon. The average reading speed worldwide is 200 wpm (words per minute) and the average number of words per page of a book is 250. Do the math and you can finish a page in 1-minute and 15-seconds. Reading 104 pages non-stop will take you only 130 minutes or two hours and ten minutes. Fine. Round it up to two-and-a-half hours. That’s even lesser time than watching a Star Wars movie, and you don’t get financial literacy from Jedis and the Dark Force.
“Should I fork out ₱400 of my cash?” Four hundred Pesos is like two Grande Frappuccino drinks at Starbucks. I’m sure you can equate it to other consumable items. It’s not much to invest in a personal finance book, right? Buy one now! I’m pretty sure Fully Booked has the book stocked. National Bookstore appears in their website with a testimonial; so, that’s another place to go.
It’s Sunday tomorrow. So, marathon reading, here I come!
P.S. Congratulations to Sharon Que and Clarissa de la Paz for a job well done, not only with the event but by writing books that educate and inspire Filipinos to become financially free to fulfil theirs and their family’s dreams in life. Keep it up!
_
How to Transfer Your PayPal Balance to Your GCash Account
A long time ago, there was no way to convert your PayPal balance into hard currency. Even if you traveled to the U.S., the only way was to transfer it to someone else’s PayPal account, and then can he or she withdraw it using a valid, linked bank account.
Then, PayPal finally started integrating itself with the local banks and the start of trans-Pacific transactions and online purchases was born in the Philippines. Still, there were two things that drove people to the wall: three to five days waiting time with your local bank, and service fees deducted from your amount.
When I ran a couple of call centers starting about 12 years ago, we sometimes got paid through our PayPal account if the foreign client was savvy enough to have one. LOL! Most continued to rely on bank or wire transfers which was expensive. Though we’re talking about high single-digit to low double-digit percentage deductions, we chucked it into “the cost of doing business.”
A month or so ago came the announcement from Mynt, a Globe company that owned and managed the GCash brand, that they had partnered with PayPal – not as an affiliate or third-party vendor but a real partnership unlike others who offered transfers of PayPal balances to their system. The GCash-PayPal partnership simply gave us two major benefits:
- The ability to transfer your PayPal balance to your GCash account instantaneously – as in, counting seconds, not hours or worse, days;
- If you transfer your PayPal balance to your GCash account, there is no transfer fee deducted; the transfer service if practically free!
Excited?
Let me show you how to transfer your PayPal balance to your GCash account. Please note you’ve got to have an existing account with both service, and there is money in your PayPal balance.
1. Open your GCash app.
2. When the main dashboard screen appears, tap “Cash-in”.
3. Wait until the “Processing” notification disappears.
4. Tap “PayPal to GCash”.
5. If you haven’t linked your PayPal to your GCash, this message will appear. (I intentionally did this to show you nothing can be done until you’ve linked both accounts together).
6. Go back to the main dashboard screen and tap the “Menu” icon (three horizontal bars) located at the upper-left corner.
7. The menu sidebar slides to the right. Tap the “Link PayPal Account” option.
8. Tap the “Email” field to open your phone’s onscreen keyboard.
9. Type the email address you use in your PayPal account, and tap “Next”.
10. Wait for it. In my case, it took a few seconds as I didn’t realize my phone’s cellular data network was set to 3G, not LTE. (Now, who’s fault was that?)
11. Though peculiar, you have to type your PayPal email address once more. So, tap the “Email address” field to open your phone’s onscreen keyboard, and fill-in the blanks on the two required fields: email address and password.
12. Once you’ve entered your PayPal credentials, tap “Authorize”.
13. Wait for it… again…
14. Success! You have now linked your PayPal account to your GCash wallet.
15. Now go back to the “Cash-in” screen.
16. On the Cash-in screen, tap “PayPal to GCash”.
17. Tap the green, circular plus (“+”) sign.
18. Your PayPal balance should appear. In my case, I have no available funds in U.S. Dollars but have ₱4,742.15 in Philippine Pesos currency. Tap the PHP field.
19. You should go back to the previous screen. Tap the “0.00” amount field to open your phone’s onscreen keyboard.
20. Type the amount you would like to withdraw from your PayPal balance, then tap the check mark. In this example, I typed ₱4,000.00.
21. Tap “Next”.
22. A confirmation screen should appear. Tap “Proceed”.
23. Success! You should receive two or three SMS/text messages to confirm your transaction. Tap “Done”.
24. Tap the “Back” button of your Android phone.
25. Tap (again) the “Back” buttom of your phone.
26. You should be back in the main dashboard of the GCash app, and should see the word “Updating…” to signify GCash checking your new balance.
27. Tada! My old balance of ₱1,349.61 is now ₱5,349.61, because I transferred ₱4,000.00 from my PayPal account and, yes! No deduction! Yipee! So, tap the “Back” button of your phone.
28. The message “Are you sure you want to log out?” appears. Tap “Yes”.
29. The “Signing out…” message appears.
30. You’re back at the sign-in page of the GCash app.
That’s it!
Like I mentioned, two major benefits: (1) instantaneous, and (2) no deductions after the transfer. Your local banks and competing services don’t have these two benefits.
If you would like to know how to register to GCash, simple click this link: http://wp.me/pwNZn-C3.
_
5 Surefire Ways to Survive Being Homesick
Being an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) surely means being homesick from time to time. I mean, I was once an OFW working in South America for two years, in a country where there was no Filipino community, no Filipino channels, no Filipino reading materials and, worse of all, no Filipino food. This was a time when Viber and Skype did not exist, complicated voice over the internet (of VOIP) was expensive and hard to come by. Today, it’s fairly easy to get connected but still, being homesick will always creep in.
A friend of mine recently sent me a “5 Ways to Cope with Homesickness” and I just had to copy-paste it here. I know, there’s a service being pushed in the “5 ways” but heck! That’s really part of the means an OFW will battle and survive homesickness by sending gifts to their loved ones – all the time.
In any case, I hope these tips help you win!
1. Get out and get “adopted!”
Get to know the city. Make new friends. Visit popular sites, new attractions, and try local cuisine. Think of it as a long vacation. Be intentional in understanding the country’s culture and history. Feel good about the place and soon enough new friends will find you.
2. Release happy hormones
Feeling good starts with yourself. A simple walk on the street can release endorphins that will make you feel better. Jog around the block, or look for studios that offer dance classes. The key is to do what you like to feel better. Remember, just because you are alone right now doesn’t mean it will be forever.
3. Take a break from social media
We get it, reading posts and liking photos on social media are a great tool to keep track of what everybody else is doing, but this may actually make you feel worse. Seeing how people are moving on with their lives without you back home may not be the best for now.
Take a break from social media or limit your scrolling time. Go outside and enjoy the scenery instead of looking at what everyone else is doing. Be a tourist and post pictures of your new environment or join a local sporting league to show it to friends and family – for sure they are dying to know that you are enjoying your time too.
4. Send gifts to your love ones
Online shops and apps are just at the palm of your hands. With a few taps on your phone, you easily buy gifts trinkets that are neatly wrapped to surprise your loved ones.
Did you know that you can also purchase flowers online and have them delivered anywhere in the world? Neat right? Just be mindful that you are dealing with legit sellers who won’t just take your hard-earned cash. For everything else, there’s always MoneyGram. Filipinos abroad can take advantage of MoneyGram’s global network of approximately 350,000 locations in 200 countries and territories worldwide while receivers will have the convenience of receiving these from more than 12,000 locations across the Philippines. Did you know that you can also send money online or in person to any bank account via cash or credit? Doing money matters has never been this easy. MoneyGram’s network allows people to send and receive cash anytime from anywhere in the world hassle-free.
5. Book it!
If all else fails, be on the lookout for travel fairs and seat sales to score a flight back home. Scour the internet and other apps for the cheapest and most convenient ticket. Nothing beats the rush of finally being able to touch your loved one because there is no place like home.
Wait! What’s MoneyGram?
MoneyGram is a global provider of innovative money transfer and payment services and is recognized worldwide as a financial connection to friends and family. Whether online, or through a mobile device, at a kiosk or in a local store, MoneyGram connects consumers any way that is convenient. It also provides bill payment services, issues money orders and processes official checks in select markets. In 2016, MoneyGram received the “Remittance Product of the Year” award from The Asian Banker. More information about MoneyGram International, Inc. is available at moneygram.com.
Anything good about MoneyGram?
Here’s one: MoneyGram established the MoneyGram Foundation in 2012 to help children around the world gain access to educational facilities and learning resources. Its mission is firmly rooted in the belief that education is at the heart of better economic opportunities, healthier families and individual freedom and empowerment. The MoneyGram Foundation is focused on inspiring minds and improving lives and grants funds to deserving organizations with this mission in mind. To learn more, please visit moneygramfoundation.org or connect with us on Facebook.
Fine. It’s a press release, of sorts, but it was fun reading it, right?
_
Source: Press Release from MoneyGram
Photo from Wikimedia.org
_
Withdraw Using Your GCash and Win a Samsung Tablet This Week 7
It’s another gift-giving week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas promo of GCash.
The prize for Week 4 was a Bose Soundlink Speaker if you paid your bills using GCash. Then, Week 5’s prize was a Huawei Watch worth about P17,000 on retail, if you used your GCash MasterCard to purchase items in-store. Last Week 6, the prize was a Fitbit Alta Wristband if you funded or cash-in your GCash in any of over 10,000 accredited GCash Partner Outlets nationwide.
This week, withdraw money using your GCash card from any of over 10,000 GCash Partner Outlets nationwide which include Globe Stores, SM Business Centers, Puregold supermarkets, and Tambunting and Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshops, and you may win a Samsung Tablet, this Week 7 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas promo by GCash.
Each cash-out transaction from November 11th up to the 17th entitles you to one (1) raffle entry for this Week 7 raffle of a Samsung Tablet.
It also qualifies you for the grand raffle draw of a brand new Nissan Juke.
As always, using GCash is safe, secure, and hassle-free. You can buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, make donations, do online shopping, and even purchase goods.
To know more about GCash products and services, visit www.globe.com.ph/gcash.
_
Promo Mechanics:
- Every week leading to Christmas, we will be giving out gifts to our GCash customers as they accomplish certain GCash tasks. To qualify for the November 11 – November 17 promo, a GCash customer must successfully cash-out at their favorite GCash Partner Outlet to earn one (1) raffle entry. This week’s raffle draw is on November 18.
- This promo is open to all users of GCash who are currently residing in the Philippines.
- Only entries accumulated within a given period shall qualify for a specific draw.
- Winners of the weekly draw can also win in the grand raffle draw and also can join the next weekly raffle draws. Winner should be a transacting subscriber and not a transacting partner.
- Prizes are not transferable and non-convertible to cash.
- All GCash employees including their relatives up to the second degree of affinity or consanguinity are disqualified in joining the promo.
- Winners will be notified through registered mail, FB post, and a call from a GCash representative.
- Prizes will be delivered to the winners as reflected in their registered address.
- Final taxes on the cash credit prizes as well as the registration and other related expenses on the vehicle will be shouldered by GCash.
- Winners can claim the prize until 60 days from the receipt of notification, unclaimed prizes should be forfeited.
DTI-FTEB-SPD Permit No. 15271 Series of 2016
Source: Press release from Globe Telecom
Image from source.
_
Globe, Cebuana Lhuillier, Mynt Partner to Help Filipinos Gain More Financial Services
“Financial inclusion” is the byword that this event presented the members of media, including Miniphilippines. To achieve this, it meant the need for innovative offerings, the value of convergence and the importance of technology.
At the F1 Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Globe Telecom, Cebuana Lhuillier and Mynt agreed to partner together, and work together, to realize financial inclusion that helps Filipinos gain more access to the many financial services banks offer but are limiting to the average citizen, as well as business-to-business solutions that benefit micro, small and medium enterprises or MSME in the country.
Globe Telecom, Cebuana Lhuillier and Mynt partnership was presented this afternoon by Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu, Cebuana Lhuillier President & CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, and G-Xchange President Albert Tinio, the latter of which is a subsidiary of Globe’s financial services unit, Mynt. To clarify this article even more, the commonly known micro-service payment affiliated to Globe called GCash will play a major role in this tripartite partnership.
Using Cebuana Lhuillier’s thousands of branches nationwide, GCash customers can now perform both cash-in and cash-out transactions in any of these 1,800 centers. There are solutions being developed that will allow GCash account holders to pay for Fuse loans and receive international remittances.
Both Globe and Cebuana Lhuillier have their own loyalty programs or the use of rewards points to compensate each of their loyal customers. Because of the Globe, Cebuana Lhuillier and Mynt partnership, Filipino patrons can convert these rewards points between loyalty programs.
In addition, also under development are programs like 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, and a mass market postpaid product, to name some.
Ernest Cu: “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.”
Jean Henri Lhuillier: “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.”
Globe Telecom presently has about 65 million mobile subscribers, while Cebuana Lhuillier has over 1,800 branches in the Philippines, and Mynt is a FinTech startup wholly-owned by Globe that offers a range of key financial services. Altogether, these three giants will be able to help Filipinos really gain a lot of conveniences and options when it comes it comes to personal and small business financial services, currently limiting or otherwise.
Sources: Press conference | Press release from Globe’s Corporate Communications Group
Photos by @miniphils | L-R: Ernest Cu, Jean Henri Lhuillier and Albert Tinio
_
Use Your GCash MasterCard This Week and Win a Huawei Watch
Let’s talk about GCash MasterCard and the Huawei Watch. Last week, we wrote about “Pay Your Bills With GCash and Win a 2016 Nissan Juke Plus More”, with last week’s prize being a Bose SoundLink Speaker. The 2016 Nissan Juke sedan is actually the grand prize, to be raffled off on the 12th week of Christmas.
This week October 28, 2016 up to November 3, 2016, the GCash MasterCard raffle prize will be a Huawei Watch, which retails to $350 or roughly ₱17,000.
All you have to do is use your GCash MasterCard for your in-store and online purchases, like groceries, clothes, devices, books, and so on. For every transaction, you get one (1) raffle entry. The more transactions you make using your GCash Mastercard, the more raffle entries you get, and the higher the chance you get of winning the Huawei Watch.
How To Get a GCash MasterCard for Free
If you do not (yet) (still) have a GCash MasterCard, why? No, just kidding. If you want to get one so you may win any of Week 5-12 prizes, simply go to the “Pay Your Bills With GCash and Win a 2016 Nissan Juke Plus More” link (or copy-paste) http://wp.me/pwNZn-C3.
For another of my story about GCash MasterCard, read “The Wonderful World of GCash beep MasterCard”.
Image courtesy of Globe/GCash.
Photo/poster of Huawei Watch from Huawei.com.
_
OFWs Can Convert Leftover Foreign Currencies to Viber Credits
PRESS RELEASE — Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other travelers can now credit their Viber Out accounts directly in international airports via TravelersBox kiosks. The kiosks allow travelers to deposit their leftover foreign coins and bills into various eWallets and online accounts such as Viber before departing for their next destination. Also included are PayPal, iTunes and Google Play.
TravelersBox kiosks can help OFWs get value for their leftover foreign currency by converting coins and bills into real digital money with Viber. With more than 75 kiosks in 8 countries (note: the press release says eight but the TravelersBox website counts only six — see addedum below), the company had announced further expansion throughout Asia this year. In the Philippines, the kiosks are located in Manila at NAIA Terminal 1 (near Starbucks) and Terminal 3 (International Departure Gates).
Robi Kopel, FinTech Lead at Viber, says “Our goal at Viber is to connect users all over the world. We’re very happy to be working with TravelersBox to offer a way for travelers to convert their left over currency to Viber Out credit to contact loved ones.”
_
ADDENDUM (By Miniphilippines.com)
About Viber
Viber is part of the Rakuten family, a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company based in Tokyo, Japan. Its B2B2C e-commerce platform Rakuten Ichiba is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales.
Viber calls are always free over 3G/4G or WiFi when both parties have Viber. Viber Out allows users to call both mobiles and landlines worldwide at low rates even if when the recipient doesn’t have Viber.
About TravelersBox.com
TravelersBox is a service that allows you to make the most of your spare foreign change. By depositing your leftover foreign currency into a TravelersBox kiosk, you can redeem it for gift cards from your favorite brands, deposit it into your Viber account, or donate it.
According to their website, TravelersBox charges a 7% fee while offering great exchange rates. The company will always be cheaper than the local money exchanges at the airport.
The TravelersBox kiosks in the following countries accept its respective currencies:
- Turkey – Turkish Lira, USD, Euro and Russian Ruble.
- Georgia – Georgian Lari and Euro.
- Italy – Euro.
- Philippines – Peso and USD.
- Israel – Euro, USD, GBP and Turkish Lira.
- Canada – Canadian Dollar, USD and GBP.
According to the TravelersBox website, depositing money in the kiosk is 100% safe. TravelersBox is authorized by the local banks and port authorities in each location, such as TAV and DHMI (General Directorate of State Airports Authority of Turkey), SEA, GTAA, TAV and Central Bank of Georgia.
Once you complete your deposit with the TravelersBox kiosk, you’ll get an e-mail confirmation with instructions for redeeming your cash. Simply click on the link provided in the e-mail and follow the instructions. Your deposit will be available to you within 48 hours.
_
Sources: Press Release from Viber Philippines | TravelersBox website
Photo/images: Viber-PR | travelersbox.com
_
The Wonderful World of GCash beep MasterCard
I’ve lived my previous life – the corporate life – filled with credit cards. Unfortunately for a guy who’s lived most of his life under the financial tutelage of his parents and, thirty years later, his wife, managing credit card debt ultimately became an ongoing struggle and ultimately, a disaster.
Enter debit cards that can act as a credit card.
Since 2006, I’ve been using my debit cards as my credit card – to buy over-the-counter or online. The only difference is the entire amount is deducted from your savings or checking account of the debit card. It’s like an ATM transaction without going to the ATM, and an alternative to an ATM transaction without the need to enter your 4- or 6-digit PIN in front of the cashier.
In fact, I’ve used my debit cards in the United States, from your typical restaurant transaction to going to a Wells Fargo ATM machine and getting cash. I learned from this experience that my daily limit was $400. Not bad.
Here’s something else that I realize I could do with my debit card – I can deposit just enough should I need to transaction online. I know many of you fear that unshakable feeling of identity theft or online scams which stops you from the convenience of buying online. You’d rather just spend money traveling to the place to buy your thing, waste your precious time and even push the limits of your patience in crowded malls and stores. So, instead of doing that, I deposit just enough for the online transaction and leave nickels and dimes that digital thieves can party on. LOL!
But the biggest benefit to me is not having to add and manage credit card debt and not having to spend more than I should. My good friend and personal finance guru Randell Tiongson has told on and on never to spend beyond my means. If that’s the case, then cut your ties with your credit cards and start using debit cards with credit card logos like Visa and MasterCard.
Enter the GCash beep MasterCard.
All of the above I’ve mentioned plus you can use it at the MRT and LRT in Metro Manila. Woot! GCash beep MasterCard is the first value-added card to be beep ready. Since the start of September 2015, GCash started selling GCash beep MasterCard in parallel with the expansion of the tap payment facilities in various MRT/LRT stations. beep is the authorized reloadable electronic payment under the unified LRT/MRT ticket system which started full implementation on October last year. It is operated by AF Payments Incorporated primarily owned by Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
Last December, I used my GCash beep MasterCard at a Christmas bazaar in One Esplanade, SM Central Business Park, Seaside corner Bay Boulevard, Pasay City. Something unusual about this bazaar was that most of the booths and sellers were credit-card ready, some even being GCash ready. For the latter type of sellers, it was like an ATM transaction where I just had to enter my 4-digit PIN while the former was your everyday, normal credit card transaction.
I’m sure you know what Lazada is. I even have its smartphone app installed in my Kata M2L LTE Android phone. Well, starting April last year, GCASH can be used as a mode of payment in Lazada’s eCommerce website through an open integrated mWallet platform. Through mWallet, Globe customers no longer need to own a credit card or even have a bank account to engage in eCommerce. Instead, they can turn their mobile phone into a virtual wallet to shop at the speed of a text message. Lazada has over 15,000 merchants, and 1.4 million active customers and is currently valued at US$1.2 billion with US$700 million of investment funding. It has an online footprint of approximately 4 million daily visits to its websites and the largest Facebook following in Southeast Asia with over 12 million fans.
Here’s another one – you can now fund your or anyone else’s GCash account at any 7-Eleven store as well as enjoy speed, ease, and safety when it comes to money transfer services. Together with 7-Eleven, cash-in transactions definitely becomes convenient.
And my GCash beep MasterCard is connected to Globe prepaid phone. I can shuffle funds between prepaid load and my GCash account. I can send funds to another GCash account (like paying my friend the P10,000 I owed him). I can either go to an authorized outlet like Globe stores and deposit cash in my GCash account or simply buy prepaid cards to load into my Globe prepaid account and transfer that amount to my GCash account. I can even go online and check on my balance and transaction histories; or download the GCash smartphone app and do the same thing minus a laptop or desktop browser. And some these features need not be constrained in the Philippines because it’s a MasterCard, right?
To get a GCash Mastercard, simply visit a GCash Mastercard caravan nationwide, get a GCash account, activate the GCash Mastercard account by linking it to a user’s Globe/TM number, and fund the GCash wallet via GCash outlets, Bancnet ATMs, GCash app, or online bank transfer. Users can also apply for a card online which they can pick up at select Globe stores. To know more, visit www.GetGCashMC.com.
For further information, visit www.globe.com.ph/gcash.
Source: Globe Telecom press releases
Photos from @raffypekson and Globe Telecom.
_
More Foreign Banks Open in the Philippines
The entry of more foreign bank opening to operate in the Philippine can only mean increased competition to the local banks. The latter will have to find more creative ways to keep their customers away from their foreign rivals. They could partner with these foreign imports, improve their service specific to the Filipino habits and lifestyles, or tap into the market which really doesn’t benefit from all these new foreign banks – the low income consumers and small businesses.
Recently, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (Philippine Central Bank) has allowed the entry of four new foreign banks into the country, on top of the 28 now operating. These four new foreign banks are:
- Cathay United Bank
- Industrial Bank of Korea
- Shinhan Bank
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
The 28 foreign banks now operating in the Philippines are the following:
- ANZ Banking Group
- Bangkok Bank
- Bank of America
- Bank of China
- Bank of Singapore
- Barclays Bank
- BNP Paribas
- Citibank
- DBS Bank
- Deutsche Bank
- ING Bank
- J.P. Morgan Chase Bank
- J.P. Morgan International Finance
- Japan Bank For International Cooperation
- Korea Development Bank
- Korea Exchange Bank
- Mega International Commercial Bank
- Mizuho Bank
- Rothschild (Singapore)
- Standard Chartered Bank
- State Bank of India
- Taiwan Cooperative Bank
- The Bank of New York Mellon
- The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
- The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank)
- The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)
- UBS
- Wells Fargo Bank
Source: GMA News Online | Wikipedia.org
Title photo from Wikipedia.org.
_
Bits and Snippets of the Philippines 
