THE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said the launch of government securities through the GBonds feature on the GCash mobile wallet platform is expected within the first half of this year.
“Hopefully, we can launch it (GBonds) in the first half of this year. GCash is still testing,” National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza told reporters on the sidelines of the 20th Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) Annual Awards Night in Makati City on Friday last week.
“GCash provides the wallet, and the bond trading platform is through Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, Inc. (PDAX). They are testing the connectivity,” she added.
The Finance department previously said that the GBonds feature was primed for launch in December last year to help boost financial inclusion among Filipinos.
GBonds will allow retail investors to buy and sell government securities through the GCash platform.
Retail Treasury bonds are usually sold at a minimum denomination of P5,000. These are available through over-the-counter placements at bank branches and digital platforms such as the Bonds.PH app and mobile banking apps of the Overseas Filipino Bank and Land Bank of the Philippines.
GCash has over 94 million registered users. G-Xchange, Inc., which operates GCash, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt).
In January, GCash partnered with Ria Money Transfer for international remittance services.
Customers using the Ria Money Transfer platform in the US, Australia, Europe, and Singapore can directly send funds to GCash digital wallets even without a GCash overseas account.
GCash services are currently available in 16 markets, including the US, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and Taiwan. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
