News Archive

Globe Xchange Inc. (GXI) announces FREE GCASH REMITTANCE SERVICE FROM SEPTEMBER 30 to OCTOBER 5, 2009 to allow OFWs to extend help to those affected by Typhoon Ondoy. Globe will be waiving remittance transactions from abroad via GCASH to assist families affected by the typhoon and make it less burdensome for their relatives overseas to send money back home.

MANILA, Philippines – It is estimated that by 2013, mobile money will be worth about $202 billion, of which 60 percent will be from the Asia-Pacific and Far East regions.

In the Philippines alone, a whopping P13-billion per month worth of mobile money transactions were recorded.

“It exhibits outstanding performance in terms of effective use of mobile phones, mobile money and mobile phone banking services,” organizers of the Asia Pacific Mobile Money Transfer Conference said in a report.

Proponents of mobile money transactions in the region will be holding an international mobile money technology (MMT) in Manila next month.

Taking part in the international mobile money technology (MMT) scene, MABS presented alongside other mobile phone banking leaders on how mobile money works on the “front lines” of microfinance at the 2009 Mobile Money Technology Global Summit held in Dubai on October 26-27. MABS Chief of Party John Owens shared the experience of rural banks in the Philippines who are effectively using mobile money transfer to expand outreach to more than 330 experts and leaders in the mobile money industry who participated in the summit.

Presenting with him in a panel discussion on how mobile money works on the ‘front lines’ of microfinance were Musoni’s Africa Implementation Team Manager Cameron Goldie-Scot, Aikku’s Microfinance Specialist Philippe Breul, and Utiba’s Product and Marketing Director Ritesh Andley. They presented on the operational and cultural impact of mobile phone banking on existing practices of MFIs, MMT as a tool to increase productivity and reduce operational costs, and how MMT affects the lives of microentrepreneurs in Africa, India and the Philippines.

The 2nd annual Mobile Money Transfer Global Summit will be held in Dubai from October 25-28, 2009 following its hugely successful launch last year. MMT 09 features a combination of visionary case studies from the Philippines and other countries especially on providing an innovative platform for microfinance institutions and banks to reach out to the unbanked and underbanked clients.

MANILA, Philippines - The Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program is taking mobile banking to the next level in its continued bid to bring credit closer to the un-banked and under-banked.

The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are the key supporters of the MABS program.

MABS chief of party John Owens admitted that they have several mobile banking products already being pilot tested with several rural banks.

“It has to do with smart money and mobile phone technology,” Owens said, promising to release more information as the pilot testing period.

Industry sources said that rural banks are working on expanding its mobile banking capabilities and its network.

“Anyone with a phone can start trading through the BA electronic money resources, and we have 170,000 clients registered with the banks that can withdraw money up to a maximum of P100,000 a month,” they said.

They said that the RBAP and MABS are presently talking with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on using electronic shops (e-shops).

Bangko Kabayan together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, in close partnership with the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS), a program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has made mobile phone banking services (MPBS) possible for the people of Batangas.

A delegation of 23 development economics students from Chou University in Tokyo, Japan visited MABS and GM Bank in a study tour on mobile phone banking on September 4 and 8, 2009.

Led by Professor Mitsuhiro Hayashi, Ph. D., the students visited the country to learn about the effectiveness of mobile phone banking for microfinance services.

Cantilan Bank together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, has conquered the rough roads to deliver accessible microfinancing services to Cantilan, a municipality located in Surigao del Sur that is 4 hours away from the nearest city. This has been made possible by the close partnership with the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS), a program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine rural bankers got a chance to share its expanding experience in microfinance and mobile phone banking with private and state financial institutions in China at the International Microfinance Summit held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia last month.

by Bubbles Salvador

Imagine a remote area where peopleactually have to travel far to get to a bank. As banks continuously strive to improve services to their clients, Globe has come up with hassle-free ways of doing bank transactions with Globe’s Mobile Phone Banking Services (MPBS), making banking transactions via GCASH possible.

G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly owned commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, continues to support the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) in its initiative to expand mobile phone banking within rural banks. Green Bank, the first rural bank in the Philippines with nationwide presence, is one of the pioneers in providing mobile phone banking services under the RBAP-MABS initiative using the GCASH platform.

With the vision of providing banking services to where such facilities are challenged, GM Bank, in cooperaton withGlobe Telecom, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS), program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), builds communities in Nueva Ecija for improved financial services.

G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), Globe`s wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary, recently signed a memorandum of agreement with ONB, the largest rural bank in Mindanao, facilitated by the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) with support from USAID/Philippines.

With this partnership, GCASH services will be integrated in ONB’s recently upgraded banking system. Initially, ONB will accommodate cash-in and cash-out services and GCASH Remit. With these new services available to its banking clients, ONB can now further expand their product portfolio that will assist in widening customer reach.

The Philippine Rural Banking Corporation (PR Bank), the biggest rural bank in Region II and one of the largest nationwide, is always on the lookout for innovative solutions that would make its services more convenient, secure, and profitable. PR Bank is consistently improving its operations and processes through non-traditional means that greatly cater to the various micro-financing needs of its specific clientele.

In line with this vision, PR Bank has partnered with RBAP-MABS, along with the support of G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, for its Mobile Phone Banking Services (MPBS) through GCASH.

The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and its Microenterprise Access to Banking Service (MABS) program supported by USAID/Philippines awards a plaque of recognition to Globe Telecom through its wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI). The award is in recognition of their unrelenting efforts to promote the use of the GCASH platform for RBAP-MABS mobile banking technology as a tool to provide world-class banking services for microentrepreneurs, small farmers, and low-income households.

GXI was also recognized for being able to execute quickly and rapidly to meet the growing demands of the rural banking industry during the recent 6th MABS National Roundtable Conference & EAGLE Awards Ceremony.

Continuing to uphold its mission of helping rural banks improve their microfinance operations, MABS, together with Globe subsidiary G-Xchange Inc., conducted training-workshops for One Network Bank (ONB) officers and staff in Davao and Koronadal in Mindanao on April 28-30.

Over a hundred participants from 32 ONB branches attended the two trainings held at the Mindanao Training and Resource Center in Davao City. In the training held at the EMR Center in Koronadal, South Cotabato, there were more than 30 participants from 19 ONB branches. GXI also conducted trainings in ONB branches in Dipolog and Cagayan De Oro on May 5 and 6. All in all, the trainings benefited 176 officers and staff from all of ONB’s branches.

USAID’s Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program announces the release of the latest MicroSave Briefing Notes series on mobile phone banking, which were written in partnership with MABS Chief of Party John V. Owens. The MicroSave Briefing Notes series is a compilation of short, focused, easy-to-read summaries of key issues and ideas on microfinance and microfinance institutions.

The Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program’s mobile phone banking initiative partner G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI) announced the rebranding of its GCASH remittance product. From the former GCASH Advise & Pay, it was renamed as GCASH Remit. The brand name GCASH Remit will be carried by both its local and international remittance services.

By Ted P. Torres
December 09, 2008
www.philstar.com

Globe Telecommunications Inc. (Globe) has recognized rural banks for their impressive performance in providing mobile phone banking services in the countryside.

At present, 43 rural banks have already been accredited and registered to offer mobile phone banking with the support of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) - Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program.