(L-R): President and CEO of Globe Telecom Ernest Cu, President and CEO of PJ Lhuillier Jean Henri Lhuillier and President of G-Xchange Inc. Albert Tinio
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.