GCash Digital Excellence Awards 2023 honor top Government agency partners

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The country’s leading finance super app, GCash, continues to honor its partners in the public sector  who have utilized digital financial technology to improve the lives of their constituents during its 3rd annual GCash Digital Excellence Awards (GDEA), held recently at Manila Peninsula, Makati City.

This year’s Digital Excellence Awards was co-presented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), and was attended by distinguished government officials including Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Emilio Aquino, commissioner Kevin Lee, commissioner Bryant Fernandez, Dasmariñas councilor Kiko Barzaga, Victorias City vice mayor Francis Bantug, Tagbilaran City mayor Jane Yap, Bacolod City councilors Em Ang and Cindy Rojas, Lapu-Lapu City mayor Junard Chan, and councilor Anabeth Cuizon, San Jose del Monte mayor Arturo Robes and district representative Florida Robes, Makati 2nd district representative Luis Campos Jr., and Quezon City vice mayor Gian Sotto.

“We are very grateful for our public sector partners, not just for building a relationship with us, but more importantly for truly sharing our vision of ‘Finance for All’ and ‘making the lives of Filipinos better each day’. Our partnership has always been for the service of the underserved and the underbanked, which is why we celebrate everyone present here with us now as champions of financial inclusion,” shared GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon.

This year’s awardees were recognized in nine different categories. The Excellence in Digital Empowerment Award was given to top-performing local government units that have successfully facilitated the adoption of digital payment solutions for public market vendors within their respective public markets. These LGUs are Lapu-Lapu City, Tagbilaran City, and Naga City.

For the Excellence in Driving Digital Impact Award, both top-performing LGUs and public markets were honored for effectively promoting and facilitating the active utilization of financial accounts among public market vendors, leading to increased financial access. The awardees include Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Mandaue City, and Quezon City. The top-performing market awardees also include Pamilihang Bayan ng Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, the City Mall of Antipolo, and Carbon Market in Cebu.

Taking home the Excellence in Digital Adoption Award were Mercado de Calamba, Lapu-Lapu City Public Market, and Mutya ng Pasig Mega Market for embracing the digital lifestyle and fully integrating the different solutions of GCash into their daily transactions.

The Digital Breakthrough Growth Award was given to Dasmariñas City and Victorias City for demonstrating their exceptional commitment and success in embracing digital payment collection methods since their adoption in less than a year. This award also celebrates their outstanding efforts in promoting awareness and achieving significant growth in digital collections.

To honor key partners and LGUs for their consistent and impressive growth in digital transactions from 2022 to 2023, the Excellence in Digital Transformation Award was given to top LGUs and agencies for their ability to maintain and build upon their success year after year, reflecting their commitment, resilience, and effective strategies in achieving sustainable growth. Among the recipients were Quezon City, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Small Business Corporation.

Recognizing their efforts to actively promote and support digital innovation among their constituents by enabling digital payment acceptance across different use cases such as local tax payments, utilities, markets, local transportation, and disbursements, the Excellence in Digital Innovation title was also awarded to Mandaue City, Tagbilaran City, Valenzuela City, Bacolod City, Lapu-Lapu City, San Jose Del Monte City, and Antipolo City.

Meanwhile, the Pioneer in Digital Financial Adoption Award, which recognizes government institutions that have a long-standing collaboration with GCash, was awarded to Makati City, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Pag-IBIG Fund. These trailblazers in digital financial inclusion have set industry standards in their fields and play a pivotal role in promoting the vision of offering financial services to Filipinos.

Lastly, one of the major highlights and the most prestigious Catalyst in Financial Inclusion Award honored public, private, and special initiatives that facilitate digital financial inclusion for Filipinos. This year’s awardees were the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, MYEG, and the Department of Trade and Industry – Nueva Ecija in recognition of their efforts to actively support the vision of providing “Finance for All” by bridging gaps and encouraging widespread access to digital financial services.

The event was also graced by GCash’s key partners from the PNP-ACG led by PMGen Sidney Hernia, NBI Deputy Director, Atty. Jose Yap and Asec Mary Rose Magsaysay of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

“We believe that partnerships with the government play a crucial role in achieving BSP’s goal of a cash-lite society by 2025. Since the time we started, we have on-boarded over 300 national and local government agencies, as well as Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations. But we are barely scratching the surface; this is just about 10% of the whole (government) pie, and we aim to achieve more in the coming years. We will continue to push for a more inclusive and digital economy so that every Filipino can have a better quality of life and experience a more elevated government service,” said AVP and head of public sector and partnerships Cathlyn Pavia.