A deeper look into the leading finance app’s workplace culture of empowering employees to turn bold ideas into game-changing solutions for the nation.
Millions of Filipinos today navigate daily life with the support of digital financial tools, and for GCash, the momentum behind many of these solutions begins within its own workforce.
Within its offices, there is a strong culture that encourages employees to take initiative, collaborate across disciplines, and develop services grounded in real user needs, reflecting its view that meaningful innovation is driven by empowered teams working toward shared impact across the Philippines. This relentless customer obsession ensures that every solution developed is grounded in users’ real needs.
This direction is shaped by its core values “Change the Game” and “Care Like Owners,” which influence how teams approach both product development and problem-solving. Supporting this mindset is what the company calls its Happiness Chain, a cycle in which engaged employees create better solutions, satisfied users reinforce trust, and sustained growth allows continued shareholder investment in talent and innovation. By connecting employee experience with customer outcomes, the framework demonstrates how workplace culture can directly shape the relevance and effectiveness of digital services.
Across its ecosystem, teams are translating this philosophy into tools designed to address everyday financial realities. The group behind GLoan Sakto, for instance, developed a nano-loan offering intended to help users manage small but urgent expenses that traditional financial institutions often overlook. The concept grew out of internal discussions about practical financial gaps experienced by many Filipinos.
For Arens, who joined while the product was still being built, the collaborative environment helped him quickly adapt and contribute to the project. “When I joined GCash, this was my first project, need kong mag-adapt sa ways of working dito sa GCash (I needed to adapt to the culture of working at GCash). But the team really helped me, and they are very collaborative.”
A similar user-centered perspective shaped the work of the International Remittance team, which designed its services around a firsthand understanding of overseas Filipinos sending support home. By focusing on challenges such as fees, waiting times, and accessibility, the group developed solutions including GCash Padala, Visa Direct, and GCash Virtual US Account with support from global payments network Visa.
“Every test that we did, every change, even up to production, it was meaningful ’cause from start to end, we were all there,” states Phing, Product Owner Employee ownership has also enabled projects that improve daily experiences beyond financial transactions. One team worked on integrating cashless fare payments for commuters using the MRT-3, helping reduce queues and streamline travel through mobile wallet access. The initiative required coordination across technical, commercial, and leadership groups, illustrating how cross-functional collaboration supports large-scale implementation. “We were trusted to do something as big as building the national standards. So that trust really made us very brave,” says Karla, Account Manager (Transportation).
Company leaders add that these outcomes are reinforced by internal systems designed to support employees throughout their careers. Its Human Resources function works alongside business units to align talent priorities with organizational goals while implementing programs centered on the 3Cs Mantra: Care, Career, and Culture—people initiatives focused on providing a holistically designed workplace experience for the GCash Barkada.
These include well-being and rewards frameworks, structured development pathways, and data-driven intelligence to strengthen engagement and performance, as well as inclusive workplace practices.
“We lead and strategize, and we’re able to drive real business outcomes,” Arvin, Leadership & Culture Manager, emphasized. For Franz, HR Governance & HR Systems Projects Manager, his role goes beyond administrative tasks to actively partnering with business teams to drive meaningful results. He noted, “We are not just here to process paperwork. We’re here to be partners with the business and help drive it forward.”
As digital adoption continues to expand nationwide, industry observers note that fintech providers increasingly compete on speed, trust, and relevance. GCash maintains that giving teams ownership from concept to deployment helps accelerate development while ensuring solutions remain grounded in real-world needs, cementing its position as a true platform for good. As Robert Gonzales, Chief People Officer of Mynt, parent company of GCash puts it, “It’s this culture of ownership that enables our Kabarkadas to translate bold concepts into game-changing tools—ensuring that every solution we deploy is not just an innovation, but a meaningful tool that is making Filipinos’ everyday lives better.
