Just GCash me. Especially after the pandemic, e-wallet GCash has become a go-to way for people to make payments in the Philippines.

• They have 94M users.

Now, they’ve just hit a valuation of over $5B, more than doubling their valuation from their 2021 round.

• They just got new funding from the Philippines’ AC Ventures Holdings (of Ayala Corporation) and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).

‍

🔍 The details

Ayala is acquiring an additional 8% in Mynt, GCash’s parent company for around $393M (22.9B PHP).

• This will take Ayala’s ownership to 13%

MUFG is acquiring 8% for the same amount.

A little bit of history. Globe Telecom, Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial (an affiliate of Alibaba) came together and founded a joint venture in 2015—Mynt.

‍

💭 What they do?

GCash is pushing for digital services for all, and it has helped change a country. Affordable, accessible, and easy-to-understand is the name of the game.

• Pay for everything from utility bills, toll fees, meals, school fees, bank transfers and more.
• You can send and receive money, borrow, save, invest, and even buy insurance in-app.

Not trying to be you. While they provide many of the same services you see from banks and other financial providers, GCash isn’t here to replace them.

• They focus on customer acquisition and product distribution.

They partner with companies that want to offer their services through the all-in-one GCash platform.

• They’ve partnered with banks, insurance companies, e-commerce brands, stock brokerages, and more.

‍

🤩 Talking about the future

Hold your horses. It’s not a done deal yet!

• They say it’s still “subject to the execution of definitive transaction documents and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions”.

And in other news, they shared in May that they plan to take Mynt public, potentially in 2025.