GCash Announces 10 New Groundbreaking Tech for the App

Had a lot of fun over at the GCash #GCashFutureCast event at Whitespace in Makati. GCash CEO Martha Sazon says "I'm excited to see you all live and seeing you all feels very special. Are you excited? We'll be telling you a few groundbreaking things, to where we are bringing Fintech for all Filipinos. Financial inclusion is a right, we empowered you all in your everyday purchases, to adapt to a new behavior, so thank you for your trust. We are a companion to 70 percent Filipinos, merchants, OFW's, and has become part of your digital lifestyle. This is part of our customers needs. We are now a consumer app bringing innovation for good, helping Filipinos giving access to those who needed it most. We are the first and only duacorn in the country, and one of the few profitable fintechs in the world, especially Asia. I don't wanna brag, we are 6x more than the next finance app. Our journey is far from over, we want to win every Filipino whenever and wherever they are, to make everyday lives better. To be future-ready so you get finance for all!"

Chief Tech Officer Pebbles Sy says "We believe financial inclusion addresses barriers, and we put customers in the forefront. We want you to be safer and MORE secure. Beyond enabling you with GSave, we brought G Crypto, do GScore, serve Filipinos here and around the world. We also have G Overseas, and two things, security is out priority. Despite our measures, 1 in 2 Million users are being affected, so we stepped up our efforts with GCash Doublesafe. Only you can access your GCash account when it's shared, this is another layer of security when you manage the account. 

Michelle Fernandez who heads Digital Experience says "We spent a lot of time thinking of what you need, we think about what you use everyday. Most often than not, it's sending money. Previously it would take a transaction 11 steps, now you can skip saving those screenshots in your app. We're introducing GChat, so you can message anyone inside the app. All those receipts will be generated in the chat with you, you don't have to have phone storage to save you, all the right messages to the right people. Online receipts are available, you can even chat with merchants, this is where we will send messages and communication, simple and made just for you. This will revolutionize the way you manage your wealth."

Darwin Sy Su the head of Wealth  Management says "According the BSP, there are only 1% of the population that are part of the stock market. Problems lie in the fact that there are tons of paperwork, tons of steps, and need to open a bank account. You need multiple platforms, no one stop shop, you can't do it on break, while at work or on your phone... Plus it's very intimidating, seen as a thing for rich people. In the past, you need 25K to own one, but now it's easy and accessible with the new GSTOCKS PH. We made stock trading easy. It's now digital, seamless, no paperwork and easy. The screens on trading are easy to understand, easy to transfer money from your account to your wallet. Information about your investment and is powered by AB Capital. Now anyone can invest in over 280 companies listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. You don't need a bank account, just top up for FREE, then WITHDRAW FREE in three steps. Buying stocks is also easy by tapping on the stock, indicate the number of stocks you want to buy or sell then place the order. We will be there with you every step of the way, we will have education about it on board if you are just beginning. This is an exciting era of trading through GStocks PH. Now you can do right investments, to help you achieve financial freedom."

Winsley Bangit Head of New Businesses say "During the pandemic, online shopping was an all time high for it's flexibility and convenience. Every budol sparks joy, but we do know there are dangers and risks in these transactions. Insurance has always been expensive, too complex and difficult to sign up, but now you can worry no more with GInsure powered by CHUBB. 60 days, 20K coverage, 34 pesos monthly. If sellers don't respond within 2 days and don't give a refund, this can protect you in your online deals. Everytime you make a transaction, just tick a box on insurance when you use the app. You can also track your claim upon approval of your documents, which usually takes 3 days. It's guaranteed to protect you minus the risk."

Mark Nunez of Crypto Partnerships tells us "PH is paving the way for web3 globally, 11 Million owns crypto and NFT's, we are 7th in the world. It can bridge generations by owning art. Now we have GCrypto. We are also giving you first dibs on Reen Barrera's NFT's."

Vincent Tio adds "It's complicated to understand Crypto, GCrypto makes it easy."

Kevin Yu the Product Head for GLoan says "A lot of you have been doing the same thing everyday. The world is increasingly connected and we are first in gaming, TV Content and 4th in data usage. GCash is making it more accessible through "BORROW LOAD". You now don't need to go to the store, now you can access it on the app, with 99 peso promos coming soon. You can subscribe and pay for it in 14 days, so you can get access if budget is tight."

"GGives on the other hand is a product where you can upgrade your life, with the power of zero. Zero credit cards, downpayment, additional documents, interest, you can live comfortably with a budget of 125K, up to 24 months installment if you purchase it with GGives."

Fe Olivia Mir of their Growth Marketing says "People have been on a revenge travel. There are transaction fees you tend to forget about and it could be costly. This time, we are introducing GCash Global Pay. You can pay with the GCash App with Alipay+ so you can pay without service fees in confirmed countries, and will expand soon! Another one is the GCash Card, you can use this with low service fees, access funds in a swipe, especially now with our new GCash Visa Card. With it, you can travel cashless when available. GCash will be there with you!"

GCash Overseas on the other hand is their remittance service. With over 36 Billion dollars sent to the PH, which is 4th highest in the world. Now with it, you can download the app with an app, it is easier and less expensive, free for GCash to GCash transactions. You can also pay for billers, you can also buy load on the GCash Overseas app and reguster using your international sim. This has been available in several countries since last month.

These are 10 groundbreaking developments in the Gcash app. If you are interested in availing their services, go download the Gcash app today!

Congratulations on these new milestones!

Pinoys Take Part on HUAWEI AP Seeds for the Future

This year's edition of Huawei Asia Pacific Seeds for the Future has just started a 9 day training and digital boot camp in the land of the free, Thailand which ran from August 19-27. This is a full blown effort from the mobile phone and aiot product manufacturer which benefited 10 students from our country, the Philippines.

The event was witnessed by government officials of Thailand and several representatives of international organizations, including H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi the current Secretary General of the ASEAN. He says that improving digital talent in the region would help drive the different country's vision, taking advantage of what they could learn from private sector work especially when there's a huge demand for it. He lauded Huawei for their relentless work in ICT development and thanked them for the opportunities they've given to various individuals in the Asia Pacific region.

Participants of this year's Seeds for the Future event will be involved in technology training and cross cultural discussions aimed to suggest and resolve social and tech problems in their respective countries and the region. They have also had a lot of female participants this year and certainly shows an increase of very talented and skilled workforce in the region.

Huawei Asia Pacific President Mr. Simon Lin commits to more years of this program which has already been brought to over 140 countries and benefited over 500 universities. When they win the competition in Thailand, they will get the chance to do the accelerator camp in Singapore in order to present their work to industry leaders that would be able to bring their ideas to the real world. Training focused on 5G, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud computing which is current and very beneficial for ICT related work today.

Congratulations to the Filipino participants and to Huawei for instilling skills trainings like this for the increase in ICT professionals in the region. It'll be advantageous for us to invest in this now, and hope this sparks more private companies to help just like Huawei did.

Huawei 2021 Report: Achieving Milestones, Investing in Future Technologies

Still reaping milestones during a stressful year, Huawei has been able to get CNY 636.8 Billion profit in year 2021 and a huge CNY 113.7 Billion net profit for the same year which is over 75.9% increase year on year. A substantial 142.7 Billion though went to expenses which is a mere 22.4 percent of its total earnings, but is expected to invest further more in research and development in the coming years. They attribute this to steady growth in the enterprise and consumer business sector and the work they've put in on the development of their ecosystem.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou puts this as a win despite revenue decrease during this year and she says "This is due to how we are able to make a profit and increase cash flows. We certainly are able to deal with uncertainties in the market, we increased operations specifically the Huawei carrier business and how we got to deploy 5G networks in different countries. We have partnered with carriers hence signing around 3000 entities/contracts for more 5G applications. It's being used in districts that have manufacturing plants, mines, iron and steel plants, including ports and hospitals which are essential industries.

What's even better is their vision for growth is going to continue, investing in future technologies targeting transportation, energy production, finance and the manufacturing sector. A little more than 700 cities around the world benefited from their partnership with Huawei which includes Fortune 500 corps.

According to Simon Lin, Huawei's President for Asia Pacific "Our strategy this year includes increase in R&D investment, be in the middle of technologies concerning connectivity and computing. We will also get involved in digital power and cloud computing, so we'd have digital economy triggers in the Asia Pacific region."

Huawei continues to push for digitalization in various industries, to transform them while keeping the planet alive through low carbon emission efforts. That's a noble deed.

Huawei Encourages Digital Skills Training For Students

Huawei just concluded the 7th Seeds for the Future program and has benefited over 200 students all over the Philippines. Ceremonies were attended by DICT Undersecretary Arnold Ali Atienza and DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum last Friday.

Mr. Atienza lauded Huawei's Seeds for the Future program as they have really good training programs in order to develop more ICT professionals in the country. Aside from personal growth, they'll be part of the needed workforce for the booming Philippine ICT industry and ecosystem that Huawei also supports.

There is a lot of growth in the fields of SOHO, healthcare and education that this could help especially with the rise of new technologies in 5G, AI and IoT, same in other countries. Huawei Philippines' very own VP Daniel Guo says "There will be more opportunities for ICT talents and equipping these students will help make the country better equipped in anything digital."

Seeds for the Future program started in 2015 in the PH and has partnered with 50 Philippine Universities that helped over 9600 students in the same field. This is Huawei's initiative for educatin so they could bring more skilled Filipinos in the modern world.

PSID Showcases Past, Present and Future on 2016 Show

I've seen some of their work in the past and I know some people who have been here. Just a couple days ago, we got to witness the graduation exhibit of the Philippine School of Interior Design Advanced Class of 2016. Their show will run from September 29 to October 31 2016 at the Square Building in Greenfield District. It's right across Shangrila Mall in Shaw Boulevard. They've entitled it EVOLUTION based on designs from the Past, Present and Future. You could see inspiration from some of the great interior and furniture designers of this time. Execution wise, I think they did a pretty good job doing that especially those of which were done by some of my favorites. I'll let you know who they are in a bit.

Let's start this short time travel for the sections they dedicated to the PAST:

The PAST gallery is comprised of 8 groups.

The Arne Jacobsen Living Room - A room dedicated to the works of Arne Jacobsen who was architect, designer and man that was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He designed that iconic chair (see the yellow one) of which has been a staple in the late 60's and 70's.

The Finn Juhl Den - Finn Juhl was a Danish architect, interior and industrial designer that was most known for his furniture design. This concept was drawn by that 45 chair (the green one on the photo above) which was loved during the same period.

The Alvar Aalto Lanai/Patio - This lanai was inspired by the man called Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto. He was a Finnish architect and designer. He was also a great sculptor and painter. He's one of the great men behind architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware during the 60's and with good reason. He designed the chair on the top photo (the white one) and they've interpreted this quite well. This was one of my favorites.

 

Warren Platner Dining Room - This dining room is inspired from the work of American architect and interior designer Warren Platner. He produced a furniture collection that has proved to be a continuing icon of 1960s modernism (which includes those orange ones in the center, but that thing is a working pinball machine table. The crew here was accommodating, thanks for letting us use your design for our personal photos. It was really nice to see colors even back then.

Eero Saarinen Kitchen - Eero was a 20th century Finnish American architect and industrial designer noted for his neofuturistic style. In this room, they used the Tulip Chair as reference and made a minimalist but functional layout. I didn't see much of that function though but I like the modern try. Wish there were some things they could do so people could see it aside from the faux walls which took more of the room.

Charles Eames Study/Library - This room was nice and I like the elements they did with regards to putting up a small office and separate study. Eames designed the chair o the bottom right, so this room was more on the masculine side and I like the murals which made the eyes a bit busy and not heavy at all. Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were husband and wife American designers and they've made a lot of waves during the late 60's and early 70's. He also was a really good painter. Although this room was good, the people manning it didn't really explain much about it. I like the details on the ceiling but they didn't even bother to tell me about it. Try to do a little research when you go the exhibit, it'll be better.

The Hans Wegner Master Bedroom - It wasn't really finished when we were there. So I couldn't really say much.

Eero Aarnio Toilet and Bath - This one was nice, although I'm not a fan of open toilets they had laid it out well. This modern looking room is reminiscent of those I've seen in the 60's probably sparked by the man on the moon generation where Eero Aarnio's work was mostly seen. He is a Finnish interior designer noted for his innovative furniture designs. If you see in the photos, the one in the center is much like the plastic and fibreglass chairs he made in that era. He finished school from the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki and you can see his charm in all his work.

Then we headed off to the section for the PRESENT designs:

Modern Mediterranean Living Room - It had the feel, mostly was made of cement, blue and turquoise elements and tons of curved seating and living area. It was nice, but not too keen on full hard surfaces.

Modern Chinese Den - I like how this all felt like a Tycoon's office. They used mirrored doors, a great water feature that goes from the table to the base of that platform. This was designed quite well. I seem to have noted they are putting in the elements of wood, fire, water, air in this space and I guess they've achieved it.

Modern Moorish Lanai/Patio - Moorish is more of a Muslim kind of feel. The style kind of flourished in some countries which were inhabited by them in the mid century. This present take on it was done right. I like the water feature that turns into a projector, perfect for meetings at home. Aside from that, I like the dark sky they wanted to do on the ceiling, plus the patterns they did to it. It looks expensive too.

 

Modern Tropical Dining Room -This one had the feel of Florida, the palm, the greenery, it all served a purpose for this lovely space. I like the moss which was explained to me is low maintenance as it needs little to no water because it can live off of moisture. There was also a feature wall with framed terrariums which is kind of a fad right now. They also had a waterfall that goes from one part of the room to the other, where you could also see it run through glass. It was relaxing. The dining area was made of natural wood, quite a humongous piece but it worked fine in the space. 

The Modern Baroque Kitchen - This one was quite interesting. It kinda was a bit dependent on Baroque patterns, which hae adorned every wall nook and cranny. The place felt a little royalty, Barbie would gladly live here.There were some broken floors but I think they were still in the process of fixing them. Hopefully when they run the event that gets fixed for a more flawless look.

The Modern Victorian Library - I could see what they were trying to do. The separate office desk and seating area was quite appealing. Their client was affluent, perfect for the theme and it was streamlined quite well. Notice the diagonal tiling with black and white stone, it takes the whole room to a whole different level. Great work on that part!

 

Modern Japanese Master Bedroom - This was one of the more better laid out rooms among the exhibitors. I like how they did the separate Master's bed room, the tea ceremony area and the zen garden. I would love to have a room like this if budget permits and I love what they did on the bed's base. Those rocks and lights will be done in my room soon. This is my next favorite!

 

The Modern Filipino Toilet and Bath - As with any work, for me it's really in the details. I love this particular display the most! That wall in the center actually have small tiles which you can flip over and change the mood of your space from heavy to light. It's a bit riding on the fad these days which is rose gold but this is more of copper. I would love to have this at home, only if I had space. I can imagine if some of their wood pieces would rather be stone or glass, it'll bring more interesting things that would tie up the space and make it feel a little more expensive. Don't get me wrong it is already expensive looking, but I'm sure they can stretch it further. Again, I love this room among all the exhibitors and it's with good reason. It made me realize that Filipino design shouldn't look cheap, even if you're looking at local materials. Hope we're not shortchanged. 

This is for the FUTURE galleries. I like how they didn't make it literal with space exploration pieces or anything, but they've done quite a lot of wall treatments that were impressive.

Rustic Luxe Living Room - As the name implies this is pretty rustic, like most of the items are hand me downs from family members and the feature wall (which I like too) changed the mood of the room depending on the light that's coming from it mood light installed.

I like what they did to the ceiling too. The lighting continues there and with the LED technologies you can have today, it doesn't need to be expensive.

Design Deconstructed Den - This was nice, the murals and all. I love the part that it's for a man cave but I had one problem with it. It's the bar, because it's open on this side and not on the back instead. Once you enter the room it's all there and I only wished I could turn that thing and put it on the other side.

Organic Opulence Lanai / Patio - This was one GRAND room and with the way they continually made the ceiling was very interesting. The materials used seemed all natural, they also have a section where they did a wall treatment with coconut tree sidings, it was massive and interesting to look at. It looked expensive too which in my books is a good thing.

Eclectic Elegance Dining Room - This spot was pretty bare without the TV underneath the table. Imagine yourself having dinner here with your family and you'll still be able to watch the evening news with them too. The walls were all nicely done and tucked away but you have sliding doors which you can open when you need to. It's busy with the eyes but not so much with furniture, it would be awesome for people who don't like clutter.

Mettalic Glam Kitchen - This kitchen had all metal elements on the cabinetry, the ceiling and almost every wall of the kitchen. I like the seating too that folds underneath the counter which can double as an entertainment area if you have family or friends who would come over. Or perhaps lie down if you're waiting for your cake to bake.

Avant Garde Industrial Library - This one is fancy, and I like the shelves most because you can use it with a plank and put books on it or trinkets to personalize it. This could be an executive room, although whimsical, can still pass on for a personal space. I was impressed by the wall and the ceiling, it was just well designed.

Funk Art Master Bedroom - This room would pass as a great master's bedroom for a pop star or someone in the creative business. It's nice that they didn't keep it in a single level because it emphasizes greatness on the bed and the nice desk with lighting on it.

Tech and Trendy Toilet and Bath - This one is super nice. The star of the show is the tub definitely. Aside from that, they made the whole space a his and hers without going too obvious and let the table tops dictate that. I like the rainfall shower in the middle too because it's a bit industrial and trendy without going overboard. They explained it well too.

Now if you're looking for pieces from the exhibit, most of these items are actually for sale. You can also get inspired from their work and apply it to your own living space, just ask or visit them at the Square Building in the Greenfield District. I'm yearning to go back. and check out when they finish some of those that were still in the works a few days ago. Thanks to their sponsors Devant, Uratex, Boysen, Hafele, Bosch, Blanco Germany, Gorenje, Dexterton, La Europa Ceramica, Nordlux, Matimco, AG Murals, Mity Mike, Larry's Curtain, Mainline, Fineza and Ilaw Atbp. for making their mounts possible. It looked very nice with real stuff there.

Again, it's at the Greenfield District. It's right across Shangrila Mall and you can walk from the Shaw MRT station. They can assist you if you need someone to explain things. Thank you PSID for having us!

For more information about their show:

PSID Evolution

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http://www.psid.edu.ph/