PAYMENT transactions at NCCC Supermarket can now be done electronically and without cash as they are the first supermarket in Mindanao that GCash had partnered with for their scan-to-pay feature.
As GCash foresees a cashless community for convenience and security’s sake, GCash Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Tinio said part of their advocacy is financial inclusion for all Filipinos in order for everyone to be able to experience difference kinds of financial services.
GCash customers need only to download the GCash app via Google Play Store or App Store. This application will provide access to the different services that GCash have including scan-to-pay wherein payment can be generated through QR scanning.
“Once the ‘Pay QR’ is chosen, it will open the phone camera which has to be pointed at the merchant’s QR sticker for automatic capture. The customer just has to type in the amount to be paid and money will already be transferred to the account of the merchant electronically. GCash wallet can be loaded via any of the over 12,000 GCash cash-in outlets nationwide,” read GCash official statement.
According to Tinio, getting a GCash account assures the customer’s safety as it is not similar to just simply purchasing a sim card which anyone can do without having to reveal identity. Getting a GCash account is quite similar with bank account acquisition wherein GCash would want to “know the customers more” through identification cards and such. Tinio added this is to assure that in the event that the customer’s mobile phone be stolen, their GCash account cannot be accessed by anyone.
As the Filipinos had a good access to social media or data-sharing technology using their mobile phones, Tinio is confident that the public would also do the same with payment transactions.
As they ensure the customer’s safety like how a bank does, Tinio said GCash accounts do not require maintaining balances and even grant rebates and cashback promos for scan-to-pay transactions. These services are available for Globe and TM subscribers although Tinio said they also provide competition’s load as well with 4 percent rebate.
The GCash account can be accessed through a GCash mastercard – which can be acquired in any Globe stores – and the GCash mobile app itself.
“The intention really is to expand the use of scan-to-pay. You start off with the malls. You have it at NCCC (Supermarket), we’ll have it in the cinema of NCCC, in the pharmacy of NCCC. Next stage, within NCCC, we hope all its merchants will also be available with GCash as well,” he said.
He cited as an example Makati Zen Card – a partnership with the Makati city government and GCash. The Zen Card serves as a citizen card for people of Makati which also doubles as GCash service provider. Tinio said they are able to use it for payment transactions in their hospitals, university, public library, and the city government offices.