The use of smartphones has been incorporated in our lives more than ever at this day and age. Our daily activities, more often than not, are linked to or somehow accomplished through our smartphones — making a call, sending a message, checking emails, shopping and music/video entertainment– all through the help of free and paid downloadable applications.
Who would have thought that a simple smartphone app will also be a tool to manage one’s money and finances?
I have been a long-time user of GCash. For those who are not familiar with about GCash, Gcash is a smartphone-based service powered by Globe that enables a user to manage his/her finances, send money and pay bills among many others, all in the GCash app.
I use the app primarily for topping up my prepaid phone and payment of my monthly utility bills. Only just recently that I am able to discover and maximize the use of GCash, and I have never been so amazed at how this simple app made most of my money transactions convenient, in just a few clicks!
Here is the list of the top 7 things that you can do with the Gcash app:
1. Pay Bills
GCash has partnered with different merchants and billers to make bills payment more convenient, allowing one payor to avoid queueing on long lines or finding a specific payment center every time to pay their bills.
2. Send or Transfer Money
GCash lets users send and/or transfer money to anyone with a (1) Gcash account or (2) an active bank account. I often use this feature to transfer money from one bank account to another. Working an 8-hour job limits my time to queue in banks to deposit money. Imagine the relief when I discovered this feature on the Gcash app! Another great perk is the crediting is real-time and no facility charges.
3. Buy Load
With the Gcash app, there is no need to find the nearest convenience store and purchase a prepaid card or electronic load for your smartphone. Top up your Gcash account and use your balance to load your own or others’ smartphone regardless of the network! What’s more, for every loading transaction that you complete, you get a 10% rebate!
4. Pay “Cashless”
Use your topped up GCash account to pay for purchases online or in malls. Online purchases can be paid using Gcash direct (Lazada, Zalora, National Bookstore), American Virtual Express Pay (Spotify, Netflix) or the digital GCash Mastercard (Grab, Cebu Pacific, iTunes).
You can also use Gcash to pay using a QR code. Scan a QR code from a merchant that offers GCash payment or generate a QR code and present it to the merchant, and voila! you paid your purchase without the hassle of organizing bills and spare changes!
5. Save Money through GSave
A new GCash app feature that I recently tried is the GSave. This feature is powered by GCash in partnership with CIMB Bank that encourages a user to save money without the pressure of a minimum or maximum amount to deposit at a 3% annual interest rate. GSave allows me to save even the butal sentimos amount!
6. Learn Investing through InvestMoney
A new financial feature I recently discovered in the GCash app is the InvestMoney feature. This allows a GCash user to invest in fund markets for as low as Php50. Investing at a startup capital of Php50 kind of removes the stigma that one must start big in order to join and start investing. but it also allows an investor to have time to analyze what investment is and how much can he/she risk to invest. Read the terms and conditions of service!
7. Win GCash’s trust, earn GCredit
When you often use GCash for your money transactions, you accumulate GScore. This GScore helps GCash determine if you are a responsible user of the app and money manager. Because of this, Gcash “trusts” that you can be trusted, thus giving you a (initial) credit limit of Php1,000. Basically, it is a credit line through a smartphone app instead of a credit card.
