Cashalo, a financial technology (fintech) affiliated with the Gokongweis, has pioneered the offering of preapproved digital credit for qualified consumers purchasing a basket of goods from accredited merchants.
“We built the Cashalo app with a simple mission—to unlock financial access for every Filipino, especially those that need it most, from unbanked and underserved communities,” said Hamilton Angluben, general manager at Cashalo.
“Our data show that the vast majority of Filipinos not only prefer the offline retail experience, but are more active in that space, but aspire to benefit from the convenience of online payments,” he said.
Its digital credit Cashacart— touted as country’s first true online-to-offline financing offering, is designed to give underserved consumers the ability to finance a variety of products or a ‘basket’ of goods using digital credit.
It is one of the financially-inclusive products available via the Cashalo mobile app.
The preapproval process means that consumers know how much digital credit they can get from the Cashalo app even before they visit a store and purchase a variety of products or basket of goods.
With this first-of-its-kind preapproval feature, Cashalo said it could empower consumers to plan and manage their finances more responsibly by giving them complete visibility of their working budget in advance alongside the applicable interest rates.
The preapproved digital loan size ranges from P2,250 to P19,999 while applicable interest rate will range from zero to 4 percent monthly.
This feature is also seen to give borrowers total control over their repayment schedules or monthly installments.
A decision can be made in as fast as 24 hours so they can plan their schedule.
Customers are given access to a growing network of over 300 Cashalo merchant partners, including Cherry Mobile, Memoxpress, Robinsons Appliances, Robinsons Department stores, Blade, Spyder, Mi Department stores and Uno Factory outlets.
“We are creating tremendous sales value for our merchant partners, empowering consumers with easier access to digital credit, payment and financing solutions on-the-go, and helping previously credit-invisible Filipinos build financial identities and participate in the formal economy for the first time,” said Angluben .
Cashalo app has been downloaded into the phones of more than three million users to date and has now helped hundreds of thousands of Filipinos unlock their financial potential.
Cashalo is part of the portfolio of JG Digital Equity Ventures, a newly created investment firm that focuses on industries that intersect with JG Summit Holdings’ ecosystem across Southeast Asia. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA