Invest Money, a feature in the GCash app, is an online platform that allows users to invest in mutual funds straight from their smartphones for a minimum of only P50, making it the cheapest and most accessible investment vehicle in the country.
The price of entry is roughly the value of a fancy donut at Krispy Kreme or half the price of a large milk tea, a come-on for beginners in investments or those afraid to put their hard-earned money at risk.
Traditional investments, on the other hand, require a minimum capital of P5,000 to P10,000.
As of October, GCash users have opened 432,000 Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITF) accounts in the Peso Money Market Fund of GCash’s partner provider ATRAM Trust Corp., surpassing the number of retail UITF accounts in the Philippine banking system, according to Mynt, the company behind GCash.
ATRAM Trust Corp., the first stand-alone trust corporation in the Philippines, pioneered global feeder funds in the country, providing Filipinos access to offshore investments in the United States, Europe, Asia and other emerging markets. The firm manages 13 UITFs.
“The figures indicate that more Filipinos are now trying to grow their money through Invest Money because the usual barriers for investing have been eliminated—the cost has been cut and the complex details of the investment process have also been removed,” said JF Darre, Chief Data Officer and Head of Financial Services at Mynt.
Aside from not requiring a large amount of money, GCash also does not ask interested investors to go to a bank to open an account or submit documents such as tax returns and payslips. All it takes to become an investor is to download the GCash app, register and answer a few questions for verification with just a few taps on the mobile phone.
With the Invest Money feature, users can also monitor closely the performance of their investments and redeem them whenever and wherever they want.
To make investing through the mobile wallet app more rewarding and convenient, GCash said it was working to add more mutual fund options, such as Bond Fund and Equity Fund.
“We are also working on adding more functionality to the app and creating a better user experience to make investing a more enjoyable habit for Filipinos,” Darre said.
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