Cashless payments have increased by 700% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Payments via e-wallets for order deliveries have helped Filipinos throughout the quarantine, offering a convenient and contactless way to get food, groceries, and bills. It isn’t likely to decrease even as we transitioned from ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ, and into the new normal.
Here’s the low-down of the best mobile wallets in the Philippines:
GCash
GCash (from Globe Telecom) is the most widely used e-wallet by both customers and businesses in the country. All you need is a mobile number (any network) in order to get a GCash account.
Payment can be done via a QR code or a mobile number. To cash in money to your GCash wallet, you can do it via bank transfer or machine cash-ins in selected convenience stores and remittance centers. One can easily pour postpaid phone plans, government contributions, even charity donations via GCash.
GCash offers a comprehensive suite of services for cashless payments and financial products. You can even own high-interest bearing savings account via GSave (powered by CIMB) and mutual fund GCash Invest (powered by ATRAM).
GrabPay
GrabPay is an e-wallet from ride-hailing app Grab which starts as a payment option for in-app services including GrabFood and GrabExpress. It has since then expanded its services including bills payment for your utilities including water, energy, postpaid, and government.
One cool feature is its GrabRewards point feature where you can claim items and discounts (because who doesn’t like freebies?). The more Grab Transactions you make, the more points you can accumulate.
A very new feature I really love is the GrabPay Card, the first digital-first debit card powered by Mastercard. Once you are fully verified, you can get a virtual Mastercard debit card. It’s pretty nifty! I recommend it for better control and management of your online purchases compared to a credit card.
Paymaya
Formerly known as Smart e-Money, Paymaya by Voyager Innovations allow you to do cashless transactions including bill payments, cash-in, and fund transfers. It is possible to do online bank transfers for up to P20,000.
You can purchase prepaid load, movie tickets, flights, and even get cashback promos from Paymaya’s participating merchants. You can do Play Store and App Store purchases via Paymaya without the need for a debit card or credit card.
Coins.PH
Another growing contender is Coins.ph, a mobile wallet that can hold both Philippine Peso and cryptocurrency. You can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies via the platform.
Initially only an app for virtual currency, Coins.ph has since evolved into offering services such as bills payments, bank transfers, credit purchases, and more.
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As e-wallet options increase, it is important to be an informed digital consumer as well to avoid phishing scams and more. Make sure the e-wallet is BSP-regulated (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to ensure consumer and user safety.
Are you already using digital wallets? What’s your preferred e-wallet of choice? I’d like to know what you think in the comments!
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This guest blog post is written by Rachel Arandilla, a friend of Jullian. She also owns a blog for Filipinos which you can read at Economerienda.com, a personal finance blog with snackable content on business, law, and life.