MANILA – November 8, 2013- GCash, the flagship mobile commerce service operated by G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, is set to grow its user base by tapping the Korean community in the Philippines and providing them access to mobile money services.
Koreans remain to be one of the top foreign visitors of the Philippines with over a million Korean tourists visiting the country since 2012, Globe Telecom noted in a press release. Citing data from the Bureau of Immigration, Globe said that out of 120,000 Korean residents in the Philippines, only 40,000 Korean residents in the Philippines can open a bank account due to lack of required documents.
In partnership with Philippine-based Korean information technology firm IT Corea, Inc., GCash is offering Korean tourists, residents, and businesses m-commerce mobile money services through GCash and the accreditation of over 3,000 local Korean merchants as GCash partner outlets.
“We are honored to partner with IT Corea to offer our innovative mobile money transfer services to the growing Korean market in the country and provide them a secure platform that will make their stay in the Philippines more fun and safe,” said Paolo Baltao, GXI President.
IT Corea will offer the first-ever Filipino-Korean debit card powered by GCash marketed as CoreonCash card. It is linked to a Globe/TM phone with mobile money capabilities and can be used to send money to others, purchase from merchants, buy prepaid load, and pay bills made possible through GCash’s safe and secure platform.
“IT Corea is committed to providing the most effective, efficient, and reliable service to the Korean market through the co-branded GCash Card marketed as CoreonCash card to enjoy hassle-free electronic fund transfers and membership benefits,” said Jae Jung Jang, Chairman of IT Corea.
This strategic partnership between GXI and IT Corea is part of the companies’ strong commitment to better serve the Korean market in the Philippines. The two companies have also previously partnered to offer Coreon Mobile, a postpaid service which allows users to enjoy a mobile number in the Philippines, a VOIP number, and a local Korean mobile number.