Cash in a Flash
In just 24 hours, around 72,000 Makati residents were given financial aid, without leaving home, through GCash accounts. Mynt Cluster Head Racquel Holazo tells the story of how they did it, from home, as well
Words by JOY ROJAS
At a time when a global pandemic forced many businesses in the Philippines to cease operations—some temporarily, others indefinitely, and still others for good—Diana Oblino of Barangay Olympia, Makati City, opened a sari-sari store.
Using ₱5,000 cash assistance from the expanded Makatizen Economic Relief Program, she and four of her family members (who each received the same amount) pooled their money together to set up the modest venture. “It’s our way to keep the money growing instead of using it in one go,” said Diana, who also settled mounting water and electric bills with her share. “We were able to build another source of income that would help us get through these trying times.”
The stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) also made food entrepreneurs out of Elisa de la Cruz of Barangay La Paz, and Evangelina Minton of Barangay Pio del Pilar. Elisa used her ₱5,000 as capital to start her turon business, while Evangelina added new variants and products to her growing lugawan stall with her cash aid.
Joeffrey Furo of Barangay Rizal, made his ₱5,000 go a long way by starting three businesses—a sari-sari store, e-loading station, and computer repair shop. The businesses are a godsend to Joeffrey, not only because he has a wife and child to support. With one leg amputated from a hit-and-run accident, he’s faced with limited options as a Person with Disability.
Cashless transactions
More amazing than launching viable businesses during a hard lockdown is the fact that Diana, Elisa, Evangelina, Joeffrey, and many others like them didn’t have to wait in line for days to claim their benefit. The money was electronically transferred to their Makatizen Card, a valid government-issued ID with a GCash mobile wallet. This feature allows cardholders to make cashless transactions for items and services from various establishments that recognize the card. In a strict quarantine to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Makatizen Card also lets them receive financial aid without leaving the safety of their homes.
Through Mayor Mar-len Abigail “Abby” Binay’s directive last May, the expanded Makati Economic Relief Program—or MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens—allotted ₱2.7 billion in financial assistance to city residents. “On an individual basis, not per household, as we begin to emerge from the prolonged lockdown,” said Mayor Abby in a virtual press conference on Facebook.
“Makati City has always been one of the most forward-looking local governments in the Philippines, and GCash is ready to help it achieve its goal,” said GCash Vice-President for Enterprise Luigi Reyes. “We are happy to see our platform being used by government units to fight COVID-19 and ultimately flatten the curve. GCash provides a quick, safe, and secure data-driven disbursement platform for the city.”
Empowered. Through GoWifi free internet and the Makatizen card, Makati residents were able to receive financial aid without leaving their homes. Photos from the MyMakati Facebook page.
Joint venture
Plans for the Makatizen Card—and more specifically, Mayor Abby’s vision of building a cashless city—materialized in 2017, with the signing of a joint venture agreement between GCash, iBayad Online Ventures, and the Makati City government.
“Three out of five Filipinos don’t have bank accounts, a majority of the masses don’t really have access to financial services. Not all have ATM cards, but lahat ng tao meron phone or SIM card. What [Mayor Abby] envisioned was to make Makati a digital city, to pioneer in using technology to make transactions faster, transparent and convenient for the Makatizens. Public service at its most progressive,” explained Racquel Holazo, cluster head for Nationwide Sales and Public Sectors under the Enterprise Business Solutions Team of Mynt. Otherwise known as Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., Mynt operates GCash and is a partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial.
Digital partnership. Racquel Holazo and Mayor Abby Binay at one of the early meetings for the Makatizen card in 2017, when Gcash, iBayad Online, and the Makati City government signed a joint venture agreement.
““It’s easy to open a GCash account, the requirements are very minimal compared to a bank account. That’s why it was easier for the likes of PUV drivers to onboard.” ”
“One thing we’re proud of is that it’s easy to open a GCash account, the requirements are very minimal compared to a bank account,” Racquel added. “That’s why it was easier for the likes of drivers [of public utility vehicles] to onboard.”
In a pilot run in 2017, some 6,000 Makati City employees were the first to receive their monthly salaries via GCash Mastercard card, followed by University of Makati scholars who claimed their stipend through electronic transfer.
Makati residents were next, and data capturing for this sector was a challenge, to say the least. “Doon tumagal,” said Racquel of the process that was done manually and offsite at the city and barangay halls. “It took them two years to capture the citizens’ database.” Makati City Hall’s accounting department took charge of making sure data was accurate, its staffers going from house to house to personally verify the information.
No roadblocks. Gcash and the Makatizen Card enabled quick release of cash aid to people who had lost their only source of income during the quarantine, such as jeepney drivers.
72,000 cardholders in 24 hours
With families feeling the strain of dwindling finances from the ECQ, Racquel and her team had to move fast. As soon as Mayor Abby (who supervised the GCash initiative while on self-quarantine because she was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19) announced on May 11 that she would be giving away ₱5,000 to 500,000 Makati City residents, the team disbursed funds to 72,000 Makatizen Card holders in 24 hours.
Digital wallet. The Makatizen Card can be used for ATM withdrawals, online purchases in stores that accept Mastercard, and GCash partner outlets. (Video source: “Makatizen Card”, My Makati. Feb 27,2020.)
Those who still didn’t have the Makatizen GCashcard either registered through an online form or submitted requirements to barangay officials. Once their form was uploaded to the PowerPay+ portal, a GCash account was created for them and the ₱5,000 electronically credited to their account. Online registrants received their cash assistance after six days, while residents who turned over requirements to their barangay claimed their money in 15 days.
Suddenly, ordinary citizens who were used to traditional ways of spending and receiving money were pushed to learn digital methods of transaction. But heartwarming stories like those of Diana, Elisa, Evangelina, and Joeffrey proved that people were willing to make the unfamiliar part of their new normal.
Customer journeys
They certainly had the support. Text blasts called customer journeys from GCash and social media posts from the Makati City government acquainted tech-challenged residents with easy-to-understand instructions on how to use the app. “Very active ang citizens nila sa social media,” noted Racquel approvingly. “We were surprised sa dami ng comments nila sa My Makati Facebook page. A lot of people would even message Mayora Abby directly.”
Ultimately, this situation shows that a cashless ecosystem is entirely possible not only in Makati, but in places and institutions open to the idea. Since the success of MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens, Racquel and her team have had projects with others looking to do a similar distribution during ECQ. “We were part of the first tranche of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Social Amelioration Program,” she said. “They reached out to us to specifically target Transport Network Vehicle Service companies like Grab, Lalamove, and Joyride, which are already using GCash for funds disbursements to their partner drivers.” Quezon City, Taguig City, Bataan and other Local Government Units also tapped Mynt to help them disburse funds to their respective constituents.
Cashless transactions using GCash were so frequent during ECQ that the e-wallet ranked fourth on the overall list of free mobile apps in Google Playstore, and second after Zoom Cloud Meetings on iOS’ free app list. As of March 31, over ₱18.4M in donations in the fight against COVID-19 were facilitated by GCash.
Racquel Holazo
Work-from-home setup
Since the latter half of April, Racquel has been on top of all these initiatives and more from a work-from-home setup. “I’ve been working on a daily basis, as in literally daily, I would open my laptop and work,” she said. “I even have meetings on weekends because of the ECQ and not just with Makati but with other local government units (LGUs) trying to reach out to us, wanting to implement something ASAP because of the need to distribute funds quickly and efficiently. ” When she wasn’t on her laptop, she was on her phone answering calls or answering messages in group chats with Mayor Abby and her team, technical working groups, and other teams.
“So it was actually very exhausting, na walang pahinga,” she said. “There wasn’t a day during the ECQ that I wasn’t thinking about work. I wouldn’t have been able do it without the help of my account managers, our head and the internal partner groups. They were all very supportive. Collaboration at its finest.”
““I’ve been pitching this to LGUs for over a year and when I see them starting to accept digital financial transactions and moving to a digital lifestyle, there’s that feeling of fulfillment.””
The cluster head was even close to tapping out, a natural reaction for someone who has been working under pressure non-stop with a lean team, various groups demanding her attention and expertise, and the constant threat of a highly contagious virus looming. “Actually, kung pwede lang mag-travel, lumipad na ako to de-stress and escape,” she said, half-jokingly.
In fact, at the onset of the lockdown, according to JP Orbeta, Chief Human Resources Officer of Ayala Corporation, 30,000 employees across all of Ayala’s business units had to make the quick transition to working from home. There were unexpected rewards—time with family and no commutes being two of the most cherished. But there were many challenges, too, some technical and others emotional. Out of a strong commitment to keep operations going, work-life balance became a struggle. But HR units rolled out support programs, and highly-driven people like Racquel eventually learned to set their personal boundaries while keeping their eye on the larger goal.
If she persevered, Racquel said it was because she was doing exactly what she had signed up for when she joined Mynt four years ago. “I’ve been pitching this to LGUs for over a year and when I see them starting to accept digital financial transactions and moving to a digital lifestyle, there’s that feeling of fulfillment,” says Racquel, who previously worked with Globe for eight years.
“This is the reason why we do what we’re doing. Regardless of your social economic status, we want to tap everyone. That’s really been the vision of GCash. Finance for all.” #
PUBLISHED AUGUST 26, 2020
