GCash and Amazon Web Services (AWS) continue to partner in hopes of bridging the financial inclusion gap and enabling more Filipinos to access financial services.
Financial inclusion has recently become a priority for financial institutions in the Philippines, including GCash. Many Filipinos still lack bank accounts and physical access to financial institutions.
However, the pandemic has sped the rise of financial services like GCash; more people are now going online to buy necessities, pay bills, and transfer money. GCash has now become a lifeline for over 60 million Filipinos, with more than 70% of adult Filipinos currently having a GCash account.
Even though the number of Filipinos with access to banks and electronic money channels such as GCash increased to 41 million in 2021, the country still has a long way to go. Unbanked Filipinos now access various financial services because of financial technology (fintech).
In this partnership, AWS continues to provide crucial support, including training, architectural design, and cloud evangelism, to Globe, a significant shareholder in GCash, since the adoption of its cloud-first policy in 2014.
GCash is a cloud-native application that runs entirely on the cloud. Its cloud migration removes the heavy lifting associated with traditional IT, allowing the organization to boost agility and create scalable, reliable platforms while lowering expenses.
The collaboration goes beyond AWS and Globe’s operational efficiencies. “We look at our strategic partners in Globe and GCash as an extension of our organization. So, our partners must share in our vision of building a cashless nation and delivering our vision of Finance for All. AWS understands that, and they are invested in our success,” Peter Murray, AWS Head of Financial Services for ASEAN, said.
This partnership gives more time and resources to delivering innovative products and services. The collaboration has progressed from education and certification programs to enhancing tech practice and ensuring that the core systems are properly-architected.
According to Murray, AWS will allow businesses to cut operational technology management expenses. Moving to an internet-based delivery service guarantees that the customer, in this case, GCash, has on-demand access to the services needed to power and support their operation and product delivery plan.
Regarding building new services, GCash’s technical discussions are centered on the product and the client. The fintech company highlights the importance of providing a consistent customer experience.
“The flexible infrastructure that cloud technology and AWS can offer enables a culture of experimentation, a culture of building, a culture of working,” Murray added. Cloud technology’s flexibility and scalability have aided corporate growth and the GCash teams’ unwavering client focus.
The GCash-AWS cooperation has progressed from bolstering tech practices and ensuring critical systems are well-architected to connecting GCash to a more extensive network of third-party independent software providers and potential partners.
As markets and consumer tastes change, financial service businesses increasingly turn to the cloud for growth. Murray claims that AWS is experiencing a considerable increase in the financial services market across three different vectors: digital banking, data, and analytics, and the modernization of core and essential applications.