Financial super app GCash and Fuse Lending Inc. have launched “sakto” loans that enable users to borrow amounts as low as P100.
“Sakto Loans serve as an expansion of our suite of lending options GLoan, GCredit and GGives, which have provided users a convenient way of borrowing money with just a few taps on their phone,” Tony Isidro, chief executive at Globe affiliate, Fuse, said.
A GCash study found that nine of 10 Filipinos have to borrow money to make ends meet. But with the rigorous loan application process set by formal institutions as banks, more than half resort to borrowing instead from informal lenders with high interest rates and sometimes abusive collection practices.
“We at GCash take great pride in the fact that our story and our success are written and rooted on the ground. We are deeply connected to all our customers,” Martha Sazon, chief executive at GCash, said.
“We know them, we seek to understand their circumstances and we are right there with them providing digital solutions that ease the challenges of daily life,” she added.
Since 2016, Fuse has disbursed P100 billion in loans and has helped over three million Filipinos achieve their dreams. With the inclusion of a nano-loan offer in its extensive lineup of lending products, GCash and Fuse hope to expand its vision of making financial services more accessible to Filipinos, including the unbanked.
“We are committed to perfecting our lending solutions because we believe that Filipinos deserve better loan options,” Isidro said.
“And we are grateful that in the course of helping borrowers nationwide, we have also grown three times more than we did in 2022,”he added.
GCash Sakto Loans is an extension of GLoan, GCash’s instant cash loan, and GGives, its light and flexible buy now pay later loan. With no additional minimum requirements needed, GCash Sakto Loans serve as entry-level loan for those who are not yet eligible to borrow larger amounts on the app but are in need of small amounts to supplement their budget.
With a processing fee as low as P6.50, GCash users may borrow amounts as small as P100 up to P1000 at zero interest, which could be paid either after 14 or 30 days.
“Sakto Loans offer an added comprehensiveness to our already extensive product lineup. In instances where we only need a small amount to get by, this nano-loan feature will save us the time and energy of having to borrow from family and friends or even informal lenders,” Isidro said.
With its borrowing solutions, GCash hopes to level the playing field and provide equal opportunities for every Filipino. Its vision of bringing financial progress to everyone can be seen in the 85 percent of GCash users who come from C2DE or lower socio-economic classes, the 55 percent who are female, the 60 percent who come from the youth ages 19-35 years old and the 70 percent who are based outside Metro Manila.
