Ayala-backed mobile e-wallet GCash reported Thursday that it breached the P3-trillion mark in gross transaction value in the first half of the year, reflecting a strong growth momentum in the digital financial space.

With first half of the current year data nearly matching the entire 2021 GTV of P3.8 trillion, GCash said it expects to close 2022 with a P6 trillion GTV driven by its massive user base expansion, which has grown to 66 million.

"We've seen higher user engagement now that things have started to normalize, further proof that GCash has become embedded in the everyday lives of Filipinos," GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon said in a press statement.

Doubling down

According to GCash, it has also doubled down on its merchant acquisition efforts and partnerships resulting in a 5.2 million merchant and social seller base, or 1.9 times higher compared to figures in the same quarter of last year — making GCash the largest digital ecosystem nationwide.

To offer the most touch points for users, GCash has expanded its cash-in and cash-out outlets to 339,000, 5.7 times higher year on year. Likewise, its lifestyle portal GLife features a total of 520 merchants even as new categories such as content, health, insurance, and e-government have been introduced.

GCash is a financial super app with a full suite of services including cash loans and buy-now-pay-later products. It is the lone double unicorn in the Philippines valued at over $2 billion.