The peak of the pandemic became the ultimate litmus test of resilience and adaptability for businesses, forcing them to rethink their strategies in order to survive.
In the Philippines, nearly 70 percent of companies found themselves on the brink, with over 80 percent experiencing a sharp decline in sales.
However, amidst these challenges, a remarkable shift towards digitalization occurred, transforming how work is done, transactions are made, and financial services are accessed.
One standout company that benefited from this digital revolution is GCash, a mobile wallet app service.
Although GCash made its debut in 2004, its path to success was anything but swift. It took nearly two decades, a groundbreaking wave of digital transactions, and the emergence of new leadership for the tide to turn in its favor
Martha Sazon, President and CEO of GCash’s holdings company Mynt, took the helm in June 2020, when strict stay-at-home orders were in place across the Philippines, and the survival of many companies seemed uncertain.
“When things are in shambles, you hang on to something that works, and GCash was one of them. Many people say that ‘GCash is the silver lining’, that ‘GCash is life’. It has even become a verb, as in ‘I-GCash mo nalang!’ That’s how significant it has become.”
In an interview with The Filipino Times during her keynote address at the 2023 Global Summit of Women in Dubai, Sazon said: “I came to GCash from Globe. I was sort of picked to manage GCash. Back then, the goal was to turn it around, and it was in the middle of the pandemic. I was hesitant at first because it was during the pandemic. At that time, when everything was uncertain and ambiguous, it felt like you were trying to hold on to the little bit of stability in your life, and suddenly even your job would change.”
But that moment became a strategic advantage for the company to offer contactless digital transactions to mobile users.
“[T]he pandemic actually helped. When everyone was forced into a shutdown, the only means to communicate and reach out to the world was through GCash. It was one of the very few things that worked. When things are in shambles, you hang on to something that works, and GCash was one of them. Many people say that ‘GCash is the silver lining’, that ‘GCash is life’. It has even become a verb, as in ‘I-GCash mo nalang’. That’s how significant it has become,” she said.
Currently, the mobile wallet app serves an impressive 83% of the Philippine population, reaching approximately 81 million Filipinos—which is nearly three times the number of users before Sazon took the post.
In terms of transaction volume, GCash achieved a phenomenal milestone in 2021, processing a staggering PHP3.8 trillion in gross transaction value (GTV), which is triple the total from the previous year, amounting to PHP1.2 trillion.
With an exponential growth of 46 million registered users, this sizeable increase in numbers shows the mobile wallet’s growing significance in the country’s fintech landscape.
Financial inclusion as a mission
In a country where only 29% of Filipinos had access to banking services prior to the pandemic, GCash has emerged as a transformative force.
The mobile wallet app has inadvertently bridged the gap that once hindered millions of Filipinos from fully participating in the financial ecosystem.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a staggering 51.2 million Filipinos remained unbanked in 2019, despite a significant portion of this number actively engaging in payment transactions.
Recognizing this challenge, Sazon and her team at GCash shattered the notion of complicated banking processes simplifying financial transactions and promoting user-friendly features.
“Our vision is finance for all,” Sazon emphasized. “We work to give our countrymen access to digital payments and financial services because we believe that financial inclusion leads to economic freedom. And that it is a right, not a privilege, for everyone.”
Gateway to financial services
During the pandemic, GCash harnessed its digital platform as a secure and effective avenue to facilitate the distribution of pandemic relief support. In a matter of days, they disbursed an impressive PHP16.3 billion ($295.96 million) in assistance to 2.4 million Filipino beneficiaries.
Now 40 percent of active GCash users, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), avail at least one of their financial services.
Sazon explained: “In GCash, our approach is to follow the lead of the consumers. So, we let the consumer tell us where to go and what innovations to pursue. And one of which is what we call the GCash Overseas. Actually, it’s an entire GCash International, there’s inbound and there’s outbound. Specifically, when it comes to the UAE, we cater to two groups: Filipino travelers going to the UAE and OFWs residing in the UAE.”
By “following the lead of consumers”, they noticed an increasing usage of GCash by OFWs from the UAE, who use their Philippine SIM cards to download and register for the mobile wallet app.
“What we have noticed is that they would make purchases from convenience stores and have items delivered to their families back home. It’s delightful because in the past, you would have to gather items for a Balikbayan box and wait for a year to give it. Now, there’s no need to wait that long. They order from Lazada or Shopee, and they even order groceries from local stores for delivery,” Sazon said in mixed English and Filipino.
This emphasizes the evolving consumer behavior in terms of online shopping and digital remittances. And due to this trend, they are planning to activate the capability where you can use UAE numbers to register for GCash.
Sazon said: “Our strategy focuses on enabling GCash for travelers going to the UAE through two avenues. The first is Global Pay, which allows GCash to be used in UAE. Through the GCash app, users can scan the QR code at any merchant accepting Alipay Plus and make their payments.
“The other one is through Gcash Card. Right now, it’s Mastercard and pretty soon it’s gonna be Visa. So anywhere there’s Mastercard, you can use GCash. What’s good about it is the exchange rate. We’re one of the cheapest exchange rates because we don’t earn from it. Other financial institutions they put margins, not us.”
Credit to the youth
Taking the helm as President and CEO of Mynt in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was no easy task.
Sazon acknowledged the crucial role of the young and passionate team that carried her through the transformative journey of GCash.
“How I brought it to where it is now? It’s not me, of course, it’s the team,” she stressed. “Especially during the first two years, practically, I was carried by the entire team. So, it’s these young people, them, all of them, who carried me through.”
“But I think what I brought into the table was my deep knowledge of the Filipino consumer. So, I’ve been to different industries: food, personal care, TelCo, and my passion has always been understanding the Filipino consumer. It’s that and the customer centricity. Those are not FinTech specific but that combined with the organization’s deep knowledge of the business, I think that worked well,” she related.
Global expansion
With the goal of improving the accessibility of global financial transactions for Filipinos, GCash has launched their services in six countries and plans to expand to the United Arab Emirates.
“One of Gcash’s main focuses now is to serve Filipinos wherever they are. Therefore, because we have already achieved some success in the Philippines, our current priority is how we can help OFWs,” Sazon said.
The CEO added: “Currently, GCash services 10% of Filipinos in the UAE. Normally in the GCash journey it starts with the sending-receiving… But the end goal really and what we’re so happy about, what we’re proudest is when Filipinos start getting financial services. That’s the goal of financial literacy, therefore, and hopefully, it leads to economic freedom.
“That’s the most painful part because those who are in the most need are the ones who are victimized. People have started using G-invest, the funds because for as low as 50 pesos, you can already start investing,”
Overcoming doubts
Throughout her journey, Sazon urges aspiring leaders to shut out the noise and focus on their purpose.
She said: “I had people who doubted me or who didn’t believe in me. Because I knew what I wanted and I syempre there’s a stereotype for women. Like you have to be prim and proper tahimik ka. But I voice out my opinion, and I don’t necessarily just fit into the box. So, shut down the noise and believe why you’re here, why you’re there.
“Women’s success especially in the tech world has to be normalized. And the only way to do that is to provide the correct visual cues which is I have to be visible.”
