Ministop becomes the 1st convenience store to accept QR payments via GCash

GCash, the pioneer in electronic payments using QR codes, partners with Ministop, one of the largest 24-hour convenience store chains in the Philippines, to promote and spread the benefits of cashless payments in the country.

Ministop is a franchise of Ministop Co. Ltd., one of the largest convenience store chains in Japan. It is a subsidiary of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., the second-largest multi-format retailer in the Philippines.

“We are excited over this partnership since Ministop is the first convenience store in the country to embrace e-payment via QR code. This will be good for the larger population because of the ease, convenience, and security that e-payments provide both to the consumers and merchants,” said Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of Mynt which operates GCash.

The convenience store chain has developed products and services that cater to the consumption profile of the Filipino market with its wide assortment of merchandise and an extensive selection of ready-to-eat products which are mostly patronized by employees and students.

With a deep understanding of the Filipino consumers, Ministop continues to provide quality, affordable price and value-added services that will make it more convenient and secure for its customers to pay for their purchases, thus, the decision to partner with GCash for e-payments through QR scanning.

“Providing 24/7 convenience to our customers has always been our thrust,” said Ministop’s General Manager, Ms. Thelma Roxas-Jacob, “and we find that Globe GCash’s e-payment via QR code program will redefine convenience to our customers by providing them an easier way to shop for their favorite treats and meals with just few clicks on their mobile phones.”

To use the scan to pay feature of the GCash App, customers only need to download or update the GCash App in their iPhone or Android smartphone, register for an account and load their GCash wallet in any of the 12,000 GCash partner outlets nationwide, including Robinsons Business Centers, Globe Stores, SM Business Centers, Puregold branches, 7-Eleven Cliqq kiosks, and TouchPay kiosks, among others. Once done, they only need to tap or point the phone’s camera at the QR code, and input the amount to be paid.

The GCash App scan to pay feature is initially available at Ministop branches in Cyberscape Alpha and Cyberscape Beta in Ortigas Center starting December 1, with more and more branches slated to roll out the service in 2018. GCash users will also enjoy a 10 percent rebate when they scan to pay with GCash at the said branches for the whole month of December.

GCash, operated by Mynt which is owned by Globe Telecom, Ant Financial and Ayala Corp., has been aggressively campaigning for cashless payment system using the GCash App scan to pay feature, kicking off the cashless movement at Mercato Central in Bonifacio Global City and Ayala Malls.

Thomas said Filipinos will see GCash becoming more ubiquitous in the next couple of years as it acquires more partner merchants including micro entrepreneurs. “We are not reserving e-payment for organized trade, but also for your cigarette vendor, balut vendor and the sari-sari store, among others. Eventually, you can pay with your smartphone anywhere you go. No need to bring cash,” said Thomas.

GCash has been working hard to change the landscape of how Filipinos usually pay for their purchases to eliminate the pain points of payments such as the hassle of bringing money, waiting for change, or getting into misunderstandings over payments. Merchants, meanwhile, will no longer need expensive machines to process mobile money transactions since they only need QR stickers with a unique code linked to their GCash wallet.

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