GCash听offers online shopping insurance in partnership with听Igloo听
By Patricia Mirasol听听
GCash听now听offers online shopping insurance protection in partnership with Igloo, a Singapore-based听insurance technology (insurtech)听firm. Users can choose to be insured on听transactions done through online marketplaces such as Lazada, Shopee, Viber, and Facebook, as long as the payments were fulfilled via the e-wallet platform. Igloo鈥檚 Online Shopping product is part of its Cyber Protection vertical, which secures financial loss arising from online marketplace fraud.听听
鈥淲ith the growing number of digital consumers in the country, now more than ever, is it most important to provide flexible solutions for the changing needs and processes of both businesses and customers,鈥 said Mario Berta, country manager of Igloo Philippines, in a press statement. 鈥淲ith many听GCash听customers belonging to [the Gen Z and millennial] bracket, Igloo鈥檚 protection is not only timely but very relevant to听GCash听customers鈥 needs.鈥澨听
A 2021 survey by Transunion LLC, a risk and information solutions provider, found that 44% of Filipino digital customers had听been a target of fraud in March of this year. The majority of them听were听Gen听Zs听(44%)听and millennials听(39%).听听
The shopping insurance product is available on Android phones through the app鈥檚听GInsure听tab. It will be made available soon听for听iOS phones.听
Mr. Berta told听大象传媒听that in the Philippines, the product is the first of its kind to be distributed in this manner and at its price points (P15/month for a coverage of up to P50,000; P24/month for a coverage of up to P100,000; and P30/month for a coverage of up to P150,000).听听
鈥淯sers can claim the full amount as the amount covered under the protection is up to P50,000,鈥 Mr. Berta said in an e-mail, adding that the insurance encompasses all items bought through the e-wallet, including food, clothes, and electronics.听But there is a caveat:听鈥淭his is subject to evaluation by the insurer. One of the requirements is that the mode of payment has to have been done via听GCash.鈥澨听
The online shopping protection听— underwritten by insurance corporation PGA Sompo听— is one of the first products听Igloo听is launching with听GCash.听Within the next six months it will be rolling out products听geared towards MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) in the Philippines.听听
GCash听has 46 million users who log听onto听the platform a total of over 13 million times a day. The e-wallet processes an average of P300 billion in monthly transactions. It is on track to reach P3 trillion in full-year gross transactions 鈥 three times last year’s performance.听听
Forty million new users joined the Internet in 2020, compared to 100 million between 2015 and 2019, according to the 2020 e-Conomy听Southeast Asia survey by Google and Temasek. On average听across the region,听one in three听(or about 36%) of all digital service consumers are new to the service due to COVID-19. In the Philippines, 37% of all the country鈥檚 digital service consumers are new.
