GCash rolling out new features for kids, travel, AI

MANILA, Philippines — Mobile payments service GCash is rolling out a number of features and services aiming to better assist users of the financial mobile application.

GCash hosted the 2024 edition of its FutureCast event last June 28 where several executive officers took the stage to unveil what new features are in the works.

Last year's launch focused on safety, future readiness, and going global, highlighted by the creation of the Doublesafe feature and garnering a million GCash visa card users in three months.

Banking on that is the arrival of the Online PaySafe feature, which redirects outside sources to the GCash app for any online purchases.

Another similar security feature planned is Send Money Protect, which for P30, adds extra protection for 30 days when users are sending money up to P15,000.

When it comes to the app interface, a new dashboard brings up savings and investments in new tabs (this feature will rollout this July in phases) and a new Money Manager space to keep track of spendings and savings.

Chief Technology and Operations Officer Pebbles Sy shared the app would have an enhanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent called Gigi to assist in transaction history, help with safety measures, conversation history, or contacting customer service.

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Chief Data Officer Sara Venturina added that more AI-powered experience were in the line like a GScore AI — which measures how responsible a user is where higher scores have access to credit, better interest rates, and other perks — and Hyper-Personalized Ads.

Yet another AI-related feature revealed by Market Education Head for Wealth Management Mark Ilao is GCoach AI, a sort of financial health coach.

One popular feature coming up is GCash Jr., a kid-friendly version of GCash with parental controls for ages 7 to 17 years old.

The products and features in GCash Jr. are attuned to a young user's needs, while wallet limits are set by parents. The ideal use for GCash Jr. are for children's allowance, buying cellphone load, or paying via QR code or online.

Similar to grown-up users, there will be a GCash Jr. visa featuring animated