GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, is empowering Makati City with contactless solutions to efficiently disburse roughly P2.7 billion in economic aid to the 500,000 residents of the country’s premier commercial business district.

Under its strengthened partnership with Makati City, GCash will be providing a digital disbursement facility for the expanded Makatizen Economic Relief Program, which aims to provide relief to city residents who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead of manually disbursing the financial aid through city hall employees or through physical disbursement facilities, Makati City will be leveraging the GCash platform to efficiently and safely provide aid to its constituents. This reduces the risk of transmission of the disease, as it limits physical contact among people.

“Makati City has always been one of the most forward-looking local governments in the Philippines, and GCash is ready to help it achieve its goal. We are happy to see our platform being used by government units to fight Covid-19 and ultimately flatten the curve. GCash provides a quick, safe and secure data-driven disbursement platform for the city,” GCash Vice President for Enterprise Luigi Reyes said.

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay announced the expansion of the Makatizen Economic Relief Program, now called the MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens, to help its citizens cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To qualify as a beneficiary of MAKA-tulong program, one must be at least 18 years old and a resident of Makati or of any of the relocation sites managed by the city government of Makati in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan and Calauan, Laguna. One must also be registered either as a Makatizen Card holder, or as a Yellow Card holder under the Makati Health Program, or as a voter in Makati City.

The financial assistance is on an individual basis, which means that a household with five qualified individuals will get P25,000 in aid.

“The MAKA-tulong 5K for 500K+ Makatizens program, which will cost P2.7 billion, is intended to provide much-needed financial assistance to residents on an individual basis, not per household, as we begin to emerge from the prolonged community quarantine,” Binay said.

Previous beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), including senior citizens, persons with disability, informal workers, and solo parents, are still qualified to receive the P5,000-financial assistance.

Residents seeking to avail of the program must fill out an application form through the Makatizen app (available in iOS and Android) or through the Makatizen website (www.proudmakatizen.com). They may also submit their application forms in their respective barangays or through Makati Action Center (MAC) personnel. Each application form must be supplemented with a valid government-issued ID.

Once an application has been approved, the financial assistance will be sent to the GCash account of the beneficiary. Those without GCash accounts will be assisted by the local government to set up one.

The economic relief may be withdrawn from GCash Cash In/Cash Out agents or through ATMs using their Makatizen Cards. Beneficiaries may also use the financial assistance that they received through GCash for online and offline transactions, bills payment, and fund transfers, among others.

“We have been an active partner of Makati City for years now, and most recently, we helped in the disbursement of the financial aid to its student scholars and transport stakeholders. We at GCash vow to continue to support the government to prevent the further increase of Covid-19 patients by empowering Filipinos with digital solutions to help them stay at home,” Reyes said.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines and wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.

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