Globe Telecom's G-Cash P2P Mobile Payments

If you've used or are familiar with Globe Telecom's G-Cash service, I'd really welcome your reactions to my G-Cash overview notes below. Even better, if you work for Globe, please give me a call!

Also, comments are open for this post so you can share your thoughts with other Payments News readers! To add your comment, just click on the Comments link below.

By the way, a Philippines-based blogger recently shared his thoughts about G-Cash. You'll find his comments about G-Cash of interest -- particularly his comments about G-Cash's transaction costs.

My Notes on G-Cash

G-Cash, as described by Globe Telecom and now available in the Philippines, appears to be an SMS-driven, server-side “wallet” money transfer service for mobile subscribers.

Globe subscribers wishing to send G-Cash must first register for G-Cash via SMS. They can then load their G-Cash “wallet” by going to an authorized G-Cash outlet and presenting both cash, identification, and completing forms required by the government to prevent money laundering. The outlet sends a message to G-Cash which loads the wallet with the amount deposited.

Non-subscribers can also send funds from an authorized G-Cash outlet by completing the necessary forms, identifying the subscriber to whom they’re sending funds, etc. Presumably there’s a subsequent settlement (probably daily) between G-Cash and the outlet for the amount of cash deposited over the settlement period.

Once the consumer’s wallet has been loaded, the consumer can use SMS messages to send cash to another subscriber’s G-cash wallet. The receiver does not have to have been already registered for G-Cash -- but must register to be able to send or cash-out any G-Cash they receive.

Cash-out requires the consumer to visit an authorized G-Cash outlet, present identification, complete anti-money laundering forms, and pay cash-out fees prior to receiving funds. The outlet provides the consumer with a unique transaction code, which is used by the consumer in an SMS message to send the funds to the outlet. Once received, the outlet dispenses cash to the consumer.

G-Cash can also be used to make purchase transactions – either on the web at selected merchant web sites or at physical merchant locations. It appears that merchants initiate an outbound SMS to the consumer containing the purchase details, amount, etc. The consumer replies (using a PIN) to complete or decline the payment.

Fees of 1% (subject to a minimum for low-value transactions) are collected for both cash-in and cash-out transactions. Subscribers are limited to a maximum amount of G-Cash in their wallets and the service imposes certain velocity limits on cash-out and transfer transactions – presumably as part of the overall risk management of the service.

At this time, there does not appear to be any way to a consumer to transfer funds to a bank account for withdrawal at an ATM. Similarly, there appears to be no way currently to get funds into G-Cash other than via a cash-in transaction at an authorized G-Cash outlet.