Mynt, owner of the Philippines’ mobile wallet GCash, is now valued at $5 billion.
The company became the Southeast Asian country’s first $5 billion unicorn last week following investments from Ayala Corp. and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).
“GCash is an indispensable infrastructure for everyday life of Filipinos and we are delighted to join Mynt as a strategic investor to support the growth of the company,” Yasushi Itagaki, head of MUFG’s global commercial banking business group, said in a news release.
“With our investment, we are excited to expand our contribution to the ongoing development of the Philippines’ digital economy and financial inclusion.”
The new valuation comes as GCash is preparing to go public, as Mynt parent Globe Telecom President and CEO Ernest Cu told Bloomberg News in June.
“We’re pretty much ripe for it,” said Cu in reference to the company’s plan for an initial public offering (IPO). “The growth is there, the profitability has been there for almost two years now. The plan is to be push-button ready by the end of the year. Let’s see where it takes us.”
Also in May, GCash said 94 million people in the Philippines had tried its digital wallet. That figure accounts for about 78% of the country’s population.
In other digital wallet news, recent PYMNTS Intelligence data finds that the factors driving consumers to use these wallets can depend on whether they are shopping online or at a brick-and-mortar store.
“Specifically, 33.6% of consumers who made purchases with mobile wallets in the 24 hours before being surveyed cited rewards as an important reason that they used mobile wallets for their most recent online purchase,” PYMNTS wrote. “In contrast, only 29% said the same for their most recent in-store purchase.”
But in-store shoppers were slightly more likely to point to rewards as the most important reason for using mobile wallets, with 5.9% saying as much versus 4.7% of online shoppers. By contrast, in-store shoppers were more likely to cite concerns about fraud and security as a crucial reason for using mobile wallets than online shoppers.
Additional PYMNTS Intelligence data showed that there is notable demand for digital wallet rewards. The June report “Digital Wallets Beyond Financial Transactions: A Global Perspective” found that 28% of consumers said they will likely turn to digital wallets to store and access rewards, discounts or coupons in the next three years.
Another 22% of consumers cited rewards, discounts or deals for using digital wallets as a key factor positively contributing to their use.
The gig economy and gaming industries have driven a rise in ad hoc transactions, payments made outside of regular invoicing and payroll. Businesses are relying on instant payments to streamline these transactions, which involve contractors, consumers and small businesses.
According to a PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Gigs and Games: How Instant Payments Are Gaining Ground for Ad Hoc Transactions,” a collaboration with Ingo Payments, with increased demand for efficiency and speed, instant payment systems are becoming a preferred solution, though obstacles to wider adoption remain.
Instant payments are gaining in popularity for ad hoc transactions, according to the report. With the demand for quicker and more efficient methods of payment, businesses are adopting real-time payment systems to facilitate faster transactions, reduce fraud risk and improve overall financial processes.
PYMNTS found 45% of all ad hoc payments made in July 2024 were sent via instant methods, a notable increase from 36% earlier in the year. Industries that rely heavily on nonrecurring payments, such as gaming and the gig economy, have seen the most significant uptake.
Larger companies are leading the adoption of instant payments for ad hoc transactions. Businesses with more than $1 billion in revenue are sending half of their ad hoc payments via instant rails, revealing a preference for speed and efficiency. Smaller companies, however, are lagging in adoption, with those earning between $50 million and $100 million turning to instant methods for just 34% of ad hoc payments. The delay in adoption among smaller enterprises is often linked to the high costs of integrating instant payment systems into their existing processes.
Despite this, the trend toward adopting instant payment methods is gaining momentum across the board. Many large enterprises view instant payments as the future standard for ad hoc transactions, especially in business models that no longer rely on recurring payees, such as contractors or freelance workers. But challenges persist in scaling this technology across industries of all sizes.
While instant payments offer considerable benefits, particularly in terms of speed, cost savings, and enhanced customer/vendor retention, the report shows businesses face obstacles in fully adopting them. For many enterprises, the cost of integrating real-time payment systems remains the primary barrier. According to the report, 35% of businesses cite integration costs as the biggest obstacle to adopting instant payments for ad hoc transactions.
Additionally, there is a digital divide, with industries like gaming and the gig economy leading the charge in adopting instant payment systems. But two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), particularly those in industries with less digital momentum, are dealing with the costs and complexities of implementing these systems. Despite these challenges, businesses that do embrace instant payments could gain a competitive edge by securing customer and vendor loyalty, driving down transaction costs, and improving cash flow management.