A brewing telco-fintech war in the PH

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Hi there,

I’ve recently started a new hobby, and naturally, I went scouring on online marketplaces for materials.

There were tons of listings for various little items, but one common thing I found was GCash listed as a payment option.

It honestly felt like having an account with the mobile payments app was mandatory for this hobby. I tried to pay through QR code-based bank transfers, but the sellers I spoke to only wanted to get paid through GCash.

This is the sort of rival that Smart Money is going up against with its upcoming launch in the country.

The payments platform has some things working in its favor, though, including the wide reach of its operator, telecom major PLDT. It is also part of a vast network of major companies that operate under local conglomerate, the MVP Group, which means synergies are likely.

Still, it’ll be an uphill battle for Smart Money. As it goes through this journey, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

— Miguel Cordon, journalist at Tech in Asia

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Image credit: Timmy Loen

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