Trading on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will soon be allowed via the GCash platform, allowing about nine million additional investors to join the exchange over the next five years. PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon stated that the commercial terms for stock trading on GCash had been finalized, with the feature expected to be available by November. He stated that the PSE has entered into a three-way agreement with GCash and AB Capital Securities to act as a broker for investments made via the e-wallet platform.
“PSE has agreed to collaborate [with GCash and AB Capital], and we will offer stock trading to GCash’s 67 million subscribers.” “We only agreed on the business conditions last Friday, and we’re currently working on the technical concerns,” Monzon explained.
According to GCash, the opening of stock trading on its platform could attract at least nine million new investors by 2027. Monzon also believes that PSE’s entry into the world of e-wallets will increase the number of retail participants in the local bourse.
“When we were going over GCash’s projections, they project roughly nine million investors in five years,” the PSE chief added.
“In terms of the number of retail investors participating in the [stock] market, it’s going to be a game changer.”
However, the relationship just begins with the launch of stock trading on GCash, since the PSE plans to offer fractional trading in the future to appeal to the e-wallet industry.
“In addition, according to the profile of GCash subscribers, we are investigating how we might enable fractional trading in shares so that more GCash subscribers can participate in equities.” “That will be the next phase,” Monzon explained.
“In the interim, we’ve come to an understanding.” AB Capital will be the broker in charge of this. It is a three-way deal involving PSE, GCash, and AB Capital. “GCash members should be able to invest directly in the stock market by November,” he stated.
As of the end of June, GCash’s user base has surpassed 66 million, with gross transaction value over P3 trillion.
Traders are excited to see what value GCash will bring to the PSE, especially as its reach expands during the pandemic.
According to Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital, GCash’s cooperation with some of the major corporations might be leveraged to attract Filipinos into stock trading. However, he stated that the number of extra investors GCash would bring to the PSE would be determined by how simple it is to trade stocks on the platform.
