Gcash Now Accepted in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia
GCash users can now buy goods in South Korean, Japanese, Singaporean, and Malaysian merchants using the payment system of GCash.
Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday
Homegrown mobile e-wallet Gcash is no longer just a thing in the Philippines, as it is now also available in four more countries in Asia—South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Through its partnership with Chinese fintech giant Ant Group’s Alipay+, Gcash is now the first e-wallet in the Philippines to enable cross-border payments.
With the collaboration of the two fintech firms, Filipino Gcash users can now have a more convenient payment experience when they travel in the four mentioned countries, as they now have over 1 million merchants to choose from. They can also conveniently pay for meals and shopping at Alipay+’s partnering merchants across the region.
“Through our partnership with Alipay+, GCash users now can travel with ease knowing they can take control of their budget by enjoying real-time forex when paying. On top of that, GCash users will not be subject to any service fees and they can access a wide variety of promos and discounts within the app,” said CEO of GCash, Martha Sazon.
According to Gcash, aside from the four aforementioned top travel destinations in Asia, more countries are to be added soon.
In South Korea, GCash users can use the e-wallet at Alipay+ partner establishments located at Myeong-Dong, Dong Dae Moon, Hong Dae, Itaewon, and Seoul Namsan Tower. These include Hyundai DFS, Lotte, Line Friends, Shilla DFS, Haidilao, Starbucks, and Paris Baguette.
The Gcash integration for South Korea was previously announced in September. Sazon noted that South Korea was “one of the most popular destinations of Filipinos, we are delighted that our customers will be able to maximize their GCash app during their travels.” (Read more: GCash Users Can Now Transact in South Korean Stores via Alipay+)
Travelers bound or already in Malaysia can use their Gcash at various convenience stores like KK Mart and Happy Mart, food options such as Tealive, Mydin, and Dunkin Donut, and even baking goods at Bake with Yen.
For now, the GCash app can only be used in Singapore at Lotte and Shilla Duty-Free shops at Changi Airport, Bengawan Solo, Swensens, Fragrance, and when taking a ComfortDelgro Taxi.
While in Japan, Gcash is accepted at several retail and food merchants in select cities like Shibuya, Asakusa, Shinjuku, and Odaiba, where you can shop at places like Takashimaya, Isetan Shinjuku, Odakyu, and 24hr department stores Don Quixote, Rayard Miyashita Park, and Tokyo Solamachi Mall, or eat at favorites like Ichiran Ramen, Kani-Doraku, and Kura Sushi.
Accordingly, Gcash reminded its users in the said countries to look for establishments with an in-store display of the Alipay+ sign.
How to use Gcash overseas:
- Look for establishments with an in-store display of the Alipay+ sign
- In the app, tap the “QR” button on the GCash dashboard and;
- either scan the QR code of the merchant
- tap “Pay abroad with Alipay+” which will lead to a QR code that will be generated for the merchant to scan.
Aside from this, Gcash is also forging other partnerships and creating new policies to better serve its customers.
In a BitPinas exclusive, GCash Vice President of Crypto Neil Trinidad and PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba confirmed that the e-wallet formed a collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) to launch its crypto buy and sell service called “GCrypto.”
Last September, Gcash teamed up with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to allow its users to invest in the stock market. The stock trading feature will be implemented by the end of the year. (Read more: PSE to Open Stock Trading Via GCash)
To further protect their customers, GCash implemented censoring its client’s name when making transactions to eradicate, or at least lessen, the scammers’ scheme of using the names of mobile owners in their text scams. It also moved its transaction confirmation messages to its in-app inbox as well as removed all the links from its SMS and email messages. (Read more: GCash Moves Transaction Confirmation Messages to App Inbox, To Remove Links on, Emails, SMS)
According to the results of the Special Industry Report on FinTech (Financial Technology) in the Philippines by the polling and data analytics firm WR Numero Research (WRN), Gcash is one of the most trusted fintech platforms in the country. (Read more: Binance, Gcash Most Trusted Fintech Apps in PH, Research Shows)
This article is published on BitPinas: GCash Now Accepted in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia
Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.
