Beyond payments: How GCash is widening financial access in the Philippines
As the Philippines chairs ASEAN in 2026, one of its largest fintech companies is showing how mobile technology can extend financial services beyond the reach of traditional banks.
This year, as the Philippines chairs ASEAN and its leaders discuss economic inclusion, integration and digital transformation, one of the clearest examples of regional progress can already be found on the phones of millions of Filipinos.
Across an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands and 112m people, access to savings accounts, loans, insurance and investments has been uneven. Mynt, the country’s biggest fintech firm and the company behind the GCash financial app, is trying to change that. The company reported revenue of 79.7bn pesos ($1.3bn) in 2025, passing $1bn for the first time.
Small businesses, big impact
54% CAGR
Mynt reported compound annual growth of 54% in adjusted revenue between 2023 and 2025
GCash now has 41.5m monthly active users, equivalent to over half the country's adult population. Of active GCash users, 89% come from lower-income groups, and 79% live outside Metro Manila, the region around the capital.
This nationwide adoption has in part been driven by the Philippines’ small businesses—and helping more of these businesses accept digital payments is a priority for Mynt. Its GCash PocketPay application turns Android smartphones into card terminals, allowing food-stall owners, taxi drivers and freelance workers to accept credit- and debit-card payments on their phones. Another app, Pera Outlet Plus, turns the country’s ubiquitous sari-sari stores—small convenience shops found across the Philippines—into places where customers can deposit and withdraw cash, pay bills and access other financial services.
Inclusive access
For many users, payments are the first step to a wider range of financial services. GCash gives Filipinos access to credit, insurance and investments, all through the same app. It is where many people get their first loan or insurance policy, or buy shares for the first time. Making digital payments also creates a financial record that can help lenders assess a person's creditworthiness, an area where Mynt is investing in data and AI.
More than payments
Borrow
through Fuse, GCash's lending arm. This year, Fuse secured a $30m loan from the Asian Development Bank to help expand access to credit to small businesses and women entrepreneurs.
Buy insurance
with GInsure. Over 21.8m users can choose from more than 48 health, life and travel policies, some costing as little as 30 pesos (about $0.50).
Invest
via GStocks PH, a stock-trading platform with around 2m accounts.
Commute
on Metro Manila's main rail and bus systems, which accept digital fares through GCash.
"Giving people access to payment services is only where inclusion begins. The real test is whether it helps them manage their money better, prepare for the unexpected and work towards long-term goals.”
Rowie Zamora, chief strategy officer, Mynt
GCash is also making payments easier across South-East Asia. Filipino tourists can scan a QR code at a shop in Singapore or Bangkok and pay directly from a GCash wallet, with the currency conversion handled in the background. There are also millions of Filipinos living and working overseas and Mynt aims to provide them with access to financial services. For example, GCash QR payments now work in more than 50 countries and territories.
In a country spread across more than 7,000 islands, such services can make distance less important when people pay, borrow, insure themselves or invest. As cross-border payments spread, the same principle increasingly applies beyond the Philippines.
To learn more about GCash, visit:
Produced by E² Studio, the custom division of Economist Enterprise.