GCash woos freelancers with US virtual account

Filipino freelancers have long been promised with global earning potential, but they are charged like tourists when it comes to conversion costs and transfer fees.

A new service offered by local e-wallet GCash eliminates these struggles by enabling a direct access for freelance workers to their US paycheck.

GCash recently launched the virtual US account, powered by technology company Meridian, a US-based provider that allows real time global payment transfers.

Separate from their regular GCash account, users will have a unique automated clearing house and wire routing number, which they can share directly with their US employers.

This means that freelancers can receive their earnings real time and avoid delayed payouts.

For other banking platforms, international money transfers take an estimated one to three business days.

A recent report from global money transfer platform Wise tallied an estimated P8.37 million loss on Filipinos’ international transfers in 2023 due to unseen foreign exchange (forex) fees on cross-border transactions, chipping away a portion of the actual take-home pay.

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GCash virtual US account is seen to allow freelancers to decide when to convert savings to Philippine currency, rather than being forced to accept low exchange rates.

“With over 2 million Filipino freelancers working with international clients, they are a major force in today’s economy, yet they’ve had to live with the compromise of costly transfer fees, unfavorable forex rates and delayed payouts,” Paul Albano, general manager for GCash International.

Albano added, “With the GCash virtual US account, we’re finally removing those barriers.”