August 13, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — E-wallet pioneer GCash is proving to be a credit alternative for Filipinos, having disbursed at least P155 billion in loans to millions in the grassroots like market vendors and store owners.
In an update, GCash said it has extended more than P155 billion in loans to 5.4 million Filipinos since entering the lending space.
GCash, through Fuse Lending Inc., offers a suite of credit options that users can avail themselves of, namely GLoan, GCredit and GGives.
Fuse Lending president and CEO Tony Isidro said the flagship product GLoan has opened credit opportunities for underserved communities. Based on data from the app, women make up more than a third of the GLoan borrowers.
GLoan has also helped micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with their capital needs, as they accounted for one in three of the borrowers. Isidro said GLoan is popular among MSMEs who may require quick cash to get through the day like public market vendors and sari-sari store owners.
Further, Isidro said 86 percent of borrowers used to transact with informal sources notorious for imposing onerous rates.
“We saw GLoan as a lifeline for millions of Filipinos to get by in the aftermath of the pandemic, where there was the increased need for easier access to credit,” Isidro said.
GCash said its entry in lending would support the government in its efforts to include farmers and MSMEs in the financial sector.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, under its National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028, is eyeing to raise the share of agricultural and MSME loans to 10 percent of total by 2028.
Recently, GCash partnered with e-commerce platform Lazada for the launch of seller loans. The product is aimed at providing online sellers with digital loans that they can use for business expansion.
Moreover, GCash has teamed up with Mayani and Farm Konekt to open up the lending avenue for farmers. The tieup also seeks to deliver sessions on digital finance and financial literacy to help borrowers in managing their capital.
Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt) founded Fuse Lending in 2016 with the goal of catering to the borrowing needs of unbanked Filipinos.
In 2022, Fuse launched GLoan on GCash – also run by Mynt – providing Filipinos with access to lending without the need for credit history.
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