Globe’s GCash partners with Hong Kong-based EMQ for remittances

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Globe Telecom added another partner to its digital payments subsidiary G-Xchange Incorporated (GXI), which runs GCash, in order to capture more of the overseas Filipino remittance market.

In a statement on Monday, September 4, Globe announced that it has partnered with Hong Kong-based financial technology firm EMQ in order to expand the latter’s reach in the country.

EMQ operates a mobile app that specifically targets overseas workers by giving them an alternative and cheaper way to send money to relatives in their home country.

The firm, which also has presence in Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, facilitates these payments by partnering with traditional banks in these countries and providing them with digital solutions.

With the partnership, EMQ users can now send funds to GCash account holders who, in turn, can use their mobile money to pay bills and make online purchases, buy load, or cash out at GCash partner outlets across the country.

“Remittances provide a lifeline for millions of households and drive financial inclusion in developing countries such as the Philippines, currently the 3rd largest recipient of remittances according to the World Bank,” said EMQ co-founder and CEO Max Liu in a statement.

“Our expansion with GCash complements our existing capabilities in the Philippines, while offering the best possible choices and flexibility for the overseas workers to send money home effortlessly within minutes,” he added.

For his part, GXI CEO Albert Tinio noted that the “strategic partnership with EMQ would further boost mobile wallets usage and accelerate local economic growth.”

The partnership is the latest in a string of agreements involving GCash, which counts Ant Financial as a backer.

Besides EMQ, Globe has also partnered with Paypal to target the freelance market, and with the Makati city government to facilitate all-in-one digital payment cards. – Rappler.com