THE first GCash-Alipay QR-based mobile payment technology is now available in the Philippines with a partnership between Mynt, a financial technology company owned by Globe Telecom, Ant Financial and Ayala Corp., and The Islands Group, which operates the Islands Souvenirs stores nationwide.
All Islands Souvenirs stores will now accept QR payments from local GCash users as well as foreign tourists who are Alipay users. GCash users can pay via the scan-to-pay feature in the GCash app while Alipay users can use the same feature in the Alipay app. The apps are free to download in Google Play Store.
According to Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of Mynt which operates GCash, GCash-Alipay QR will enable local merchants like Island Souvenirs to serve more customers with seamless payment services. The feature provides convenience and security to all shoppers and tourists.
Thomas said they also put an emphasis on protecting their users’ information and privacy.
“Our partnership with Alipay is very crucial in this regard. We have invested in our platform and security infrastructure significantly, which have withstood a lot of potential fraud. We continuously monitor, invest in protection software and act responsibly. We don’t allow misuse of the users’ data,” Thomas added.
“We are happy to partner with GCash and be the first chain of stores in Cebu who will offer this combined GCash-Alipay QR to our customers. We at the Islands Group are committed to make customers’ shopping experience more convenient. We also believe that this will open opportunities for us with the influx of Chinese tourists in Cebu. Thanks to GCash,” said Jonathan Jay Aldeguer, CEO of The Islands Group.
“We only started this project in October of 2017 so you can imagine how quickly we’ve grown to so many of these establishments. Now we’re bringing Alipay along to a tourist destination like here in Cebu where you can expect not only tourist traffic but also local traffic as well. And we have done that to lower the cost, to do it in a more secure way and to add convenience. We really want to move this country into more becoming cashless,” said Thomas when asked about their expected outcome after their company’s latest milestone.
Alipay is now accepted by brick-and-mortar merchants across 41 countries and regions who connect travelers via Alipay’s in-app marketing platform. (Neil Jean Navarro, SJIT Intern)