GCash brings on board 800,000 to invest in stocks

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Stock trading via e-wallet GCash has been gaining ground since its launch last year with 800,000 investors now betting on the platform.

The Globe Telecom Inc. subsidiary, in a statement on Thursday, noted that traders using GStocks PH have earned P12 million as of end-July.

“This milestone underscores GCash’s commitment to making investment opportunities more accessible to Filipinos across the country,” said Winsley Bangit, GCash vice president and group head of wealth management and new businesses.

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GStocks PH is offered by GCash in partnership with AB Capital Securities Inc.

According to the Philippine Stock Exchange, more retail traders created accounts to invest in the local bourse last year because GCash made stock trading more accessible to Filipinos.

The number of online stock market accounts grew by 21 percent to 1.5 million in 2023, representing 80 percent of total accounts.

PSE noted that the average value per online trade had risen by 1.8 percent to P47,050.48 last year from P46,236.40 in 2022.

Apart from stock trading, GCash also offers other financial services such as savings, lending, investments and insurance products.

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The homegrown brand has been expanding its presence abroad, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

GCash recently achieved a valuation of $5 billion after receiving capital infusion from Ayala Corp. and MUFG Bank Ltd. Analysts said this could make the company more attractive to investors when it decides to finally go public.