GCash sets debut in OFW-packed Middle East in Q1

GCash is extending its global expansion blitz in the Middle East with the rollout of its services within this first quarter of 2024, in order to take a share of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) market in a region from where one of the biggest chunks of Philippines-bound remittances com.

An estimated 2 million Filipinos live across the Middle East and North Africa. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that the top sources of remittances to the country include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Apart from the Middle East, GCash is also targeting to launch services in news markets in Europe and other parts of Asia.

Oscar Reyes Jr., president and CEO of G-Xchange Inc., told reporters the launch was part of the e-wallet platform’s expansion to 10 countries after deploying in Japan, Australia, Italy, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom.

Reyes said that many OFWs in the Middle East will benefit from the menu of financial services GCash has to offer.

For one, sending money home will be much easier via the app, he said. In addition, the money transfer will not further cost the user as GCash-to-GCash account transactions are free.

Filipinos living abroad can also pay their local billers directly through GCash, making payments more convenient.

Meanwhile, the e-wallet earlier introduced their GCash Global Pay amid the continuing phenomenon of revenge travel. This feature allows travelers to pay for their transactions via QR (quick response) codes.

This payment service is available in South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Locally, GCash has found it imperative to step up its efforts against cyber criminals by recently signing an information-sharing pact with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

NBI and GCash have been teaming up already to go after cyber criminals prior to the signing of this partnership. GCash, on its part, observes potential suspicious activities in its platform, which will then be reported to NBI for further probe.

When accounts are found to be linked to suspicious activities, GCash takes them down. In the first half of last year, it deactivated 4 million such accounts.

Also, the company blocked 185 malicious sites in the same period as a way to curb phishing, a fraudulent activity whereby hackers trick unsuspecting individuals into providing personal information. The victim usually inputs his or her data into a fake website or app, which the criminals use for account takeover. INQ