GCash extends P2.5-B loans to pandemic-hit Pinoys

GCash said it has extended P2.5 billion worth of cash loans in less than a year as Filipinos searched for accessible lending platforms to address their budgetary needs during the pandemic.

The Ayala-led financial technology (fintech) platform said its GLoan feature made this possible just 10 months since launching. Interest rates range from 2.6 percent to 4 percent per month.

“We want to make lending more accessible to consumers to prevent them from becoming victims of informal lenders who usually charge predatory rates. We want Filipinos, especially the unbanked, to have access to funds whenever they need it,” said GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon.

A recent survey by employment data provider Smile API revealed that five out of 10 Filipinos have resorted to informal borrowers as they struggle to secure loans from formal lending institutions due to numerous requirements.

GLoan offers loans ranging from P1,000 to P50,000, which are payable in five, nine or 12 months. It has an in-house trust platform to determine the borrowers’ creditworthiness.

For its buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform GGives, GCash said it disbursed P345 million from December last year to May 2022.

The BNPL portal allows GCash users to purchase, sans a credit card, from 85,000 partner merchants.

The e-wallet service provider noted it has partially used the $300-million funding it secured last year to beef up its lending services and grow its other businesses.

“We have not fully deployed the capital raised, and we plan to do so by further investing in our lending initiatives, our wealth management aspirations and the digital ecosystem in rural areas in the country,” Sazon said.

Earlier, GCash said it was also expecting to lure to its platform additional digital savings account users, which have grown to 5.3 million, by offering a more attractive interest rate for new sign-ups. It said one out of every five banked Filipino adults had opened a savings account via GCash through the GSave feature.

The fintech platform is also set to launch the GSave Marketplace, which seeks to provide more bank product options. Bank of the Philippine Islands, which is also under the Ayala group, will participate in this venture.

GCash currently has a consumer base of 60 million.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ