Fast Facts:

• Digital wallets are applications stored on smartphones that store payment information or actual funds. Digital wallets are used to make transactions.
  
  
• A merchant-initiated transaction is a transaction that is initiated by a merchant, where a customer has given pre-approval (like with a subscription payment plan)
  
  
• A customer-initiated transaction meanwhile is initiated by a customer. Each transaction needs to be authorised by the customer for the transaction to take place (like with an e-commerce transaction)

You might have heard that Ezypay is set to be the first payment facilitator in APAC to offer the popular digital wallet GCash as an option for merchant-initiated recurring transactions.

What does this roll-out mean for gyms and health club owners in The Philippines?

What are digital wallets?

Digital wallets (sometimes also known as e-wallets) are applications stored on smart devices (like smartphones or laptops) that store payment information or actual funds.

Consumers can use these digital wallets to make transactions in a similar way that they would pay with a credit or debit card. While digital wallets are traditionally more suitable for customer-initiated transactions (like e-commerce), GCash now has the capability to offer merchant-initiated transactions, making it ideal for subscription payments.

What is GCash?

GCash is a digital wallet payment method in The Philippines. GCash users can load their payment information and funds into the GCash application installed on their smartphone and then make payments by scanning a QR code.

How popular is GCash?

In a word: very.

1. As of 2023, GCash claims that they have over 81 million active users and 2.5 million active merchants who accept GCash payments.
   
   
2. More than 80% of the residents of The Philippines (both expatriates and citizens) currently use a GCash account.
   
   
3. There are more GCash account holders than bank account holders in The Philippines.

What are merchant-initiated transactions and how do they differ from customer-initiated transactions?

A customer-initiated transaction is a payment that begins at the customer’s request. An example of a customer-initiated transaction could be purchasing workout gear from an e-commerce platform like Amazon, Temu or eBay. Meanwhile, merchant-initiated transactions are initiated by the merchants themselves, with authorisation granted from the customer to cover all subsequent transactions. An example of a merchant-initiated transaction is the relationship a gym member has with their local gym – where the member has authorised their gym to make several transactions on their behalf to automatically pay for gym fees.

Ezypay has worked closely with GCash and local payments service providers to allow for merchant-initiated GCash payments – a first for the Filipino market.

What does GCash mean for gyms that use Ezypay through one of its integrated software partners?

Ready to start offering GCash as a recurring payment option for your gym or health club? If you’re managing a gym or health club in The Philippines you’re ready to start collecting GCash payments from your members. Enter your details here.

If you manage a gym and you’re not currently utilising a member management software suite – now’s the time to reach out and discover why hundreds of gyms and health clubs around the world are turning to Ezypay for their gym management needs.