The country’s leading
finance super app, GCash, continues to honor its partners in the public sector who
have utilized digital financial technology to improve the lives of their
constituents during its 3rd annual GCash Digital Excellence Awards (GDEA), held
recently at Manila Peninsula, Makati City.
This year’s Digital
Excellence Awards was co-presented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),
the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Anti-Red Tape
Authority (ARTA), and was attended by distinguished government officials
including Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Emilio Aquino,
commissioner Kevin Lee, commissioner Bryant Fernandez, Dasmariñas councilor
Kiko Barzaga, Victorias City vice mayor Francis Bantug, Tagbilaran City mayor
Jane Yap, Bacolod City councilors Em Ang and Cindy Rojas, Lapu-Lapu City mayor
Junard Chan, and councilor Anabeth Cuizon, San Jose del Monte mayor Arturo
Robes and district representative Florida Robes, Makati 2nd district
representative Luis Campos Jr., and Quezon City vice mayor Gian Sotto.
“We are very grateful for
our public sector partners, not just for building a relationship with us, but
more importantly for truly sharing our vision of ‘Finance for All’ and 'making
the lives of Filipinos better each day’. Our partnership has always been for
the service of the underserved and the underbanked, which is why we celebrate
everyone present here with us now as champions of financial inclusion,” shared
GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon.
This year’s awardees were
recognized in nine different categories. The Excellence in Digital Empowerment
Award was given to top-performing local government units that have successfully
facilitated the adoption of digital payment solutions for public market vendors
within their respective public markets. These LGUs are Lapu-Lapu City,
Tagbilaran City, and Naga City.
For the Excellence in
Driving Digital Impact Award, both top-performing LGUs and public markets were
honored for effectively promoting and facilitating the active utilization of
financial accounts among public market vendors, leading to increased financial
access. The awardees include Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Mandaue City, and Quezon
City. The top-performing market awardees also include Pamilihang Bayan ng
Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, the City Mall of Antipolo, and Carbon Market in Cebu.
Taking home the Excellence
in Digital Adoption Award were Mercado de Calamba, Lapu-Lapu City Public
Market, and Mutya ng Pasig Mega Market for embracing the digital lifestyle and
fully integrating the different solutions of GCash into their daily
transactions.
The Digital Breakthrough
Growth Award was given to Dasmariñas City and Victorias City for demonstrating
their exceptional commitment and success in embracing digital payment
collection methods since their adoption in less than a year. This award also
celebrates their outstanding efforts in promoting awareness and achieving
significant growth in digital collections.
To honor key partners and
LGUs for their consistent and impressive growth in digital transactions from
2022 to 2023, the Excellence in Digital Transformation Award was given to top
LGUs and agencies for their ability to maintain and build upon their success
year after year, reflecting their commitment, resilience, and effective
strategies in achieving sustainable growth. Among the recipients were Quezon
City, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Small Business Corporation.
Recognizing their efforts
to actively promote and support digital innovation among their constituents by
enabling digital payment acceptance across different use cases such as local
tax payments, utilities, markets, local transportation, and disbursements, the
Excellence in Digital Innovation title was also awarded to Mandaue City,
Tagbilaran City, Valenzuela City, Bacolod City, Lapu-Lapu City, San Jose Del
Monte City, and Antipolo City.
Meanwhile, the Pioneer in
Digital Financial Adoption Award, which recognizes government institutions that
have a long-standing collaboration with GCash, was awarded to Makati City, the
Department of Trade and Industry, and the Pag-IBIG Fund. These trailblazers in
digital financial inclusion have set industry standards in their fields and
play a pivotal role in promoting the vision of offering financial services to
Filipinos.
Lastly, one of the major
highlights and the most prestigious Catalyst in Financial Inclusion Award
honored public, private, and special initiatives that facilitate digital
financial inclusion for Filipinos. This year’s awardees were the National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police - Anti-Cybercrime
Group (PNP-ACG), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, MYEG, and
the Department of Trade and Industry - Nueva Ecija in recognition of their
efforts to actively support the vision of providing “Finance for All” by
bridging gaps and encouraging widespread access to digital financial services.
The event was also graced by GCash’s key partners from the PNP-ACG led
by PMGen Sidney Hernia, NBI Deputy Director, Atty. Jose Yap and Asec Mary Rose
Magsaysay of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
“We believe that
partnerships with the government play a crucial role in achieving BSP’s goal of
a cash-lite society by 2025. Since the time we started, we have on-boarded over
300 national and local government agencies, as well as Government-Owned and
Controlled Corporations. But we are barely scratching the surface; this is just
about 10% of the whole (government) pie, and we aim to achieve more in the
coming years. We will continue to push for a more inclusive and digital economy
so that every Filipino can have a better quality of life and experience a more
elevated government service," said AVP and head of public sector and
partnerships Cathlyn Pavia.
For more information, visit www.gcash.com.
