Over 73% of GCash Pera Outlet partners are women entrepreneurs earning additional income by turning neighborhood stores into digital hubs for financial transactions.
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Across the Philippines, women play a critical role in the Philippines’ grassroots economy, with around 66% of nano, micro, and small enterprises (NMSMEs) owned by women who juggle both household responsibilities and the daily demands of running a business. Yet despite their critical role in local economies, many of these entrepreneurs continue to operate with limited access to digital financial tools and sustainable income opportunities.
This Women’s Month, GCash, the country’s leading finance super app, is spotlighting how GCash Pera Outlet is helping women-led microbusinesses strengthen their earnings and expand their participation in the digital economy. Within the GCash Pera Outlet network, more than 73% of partners are women nano and micro business owners who have transformed their neighborhood stores into hubs for digital financial services, earning additional income while expanding access to financial tools in their communities. Store owners can offer services such as cash-in, cash-out, bills payment, and buying load, while earning commissions or “dagdag kita” for every transaction they facilitate.
According to Barbara Dawn “Barbie” Rodriguez-Dapul, Chief Operations Officer and General Manager for Consumer Business of G-Xchange, Inc. (the mobile wallet operator of GCash), the program is helping empower women entrepreneurs while supporting the country’s broader push toward financial inclusion.
Women at the center of the micro-economy
“Nano and micro businesses in the Philippines are often neighborhood stores, and the face of these community-based businesses is generally female,” Dapul explained. “If you go to a sari-sari store, more often than not, you would see a woman handling or managing the store.”
By bridging the deep-rooted trust of neighborhood 'sari-sari' stores with digital innovation, GCash Pera Outlet empowers women to transform their community presence into an engine for business growth and 'dagdag kita. For many of these entrepreneurs, GCash Pera Outlet offers an accessible way to supplement their income while continuing to serve their communities. “When we looked at the skew of female owners among GCash Pera Outlet operators, it really over-indexes versus the national average,” she said. “This means we’re empowering more women to have additional income.”
Turning neighborhood stores into digital hubs for financial transactions
Nano, micro, small, and medium enterprises remain the backbone of the Philippine economy, accounting for 99.5% of all business establishments and contributing over 40% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, much of the activity within this sector still happens informally. GCash Pera Outlet helps bridge this gap by turning neighborhood stores into local hubs for digital financial transactions that help establish and formalize their financial footprint.
“When women have additional income, they reinvest it toward the health and education of their children,” Dapul said. “This is good for the economy because we have a chance to break cycles of poverty.”
By digitizing everyday transactions that were previously informal, the program also helps entrepreneurs build verifiable digital transaction histories that may open doors to additional services such as access to government programs, micro-loans or insurance in the future.
Through the GCash Pera Outlet Plus app, Marie Audrey Salvador transformed her Baguio market stall into a cashless digital financial hub, elevating her family's quality of life. Where she once struggled to make ends meet, the steady income now allows her to comfortably cover rent, pay bills, and finally take her loved ones on well-deserved vacations. Today, her store is a recognized financial lifeline at the heart of the palengke (public market), proving that embracing digitalization can unlock a secure and thriving future.
Helping microbusiness owners run more organized businesses
Beyond generating additional income, GCash Pera Outlet also addresses operational challenges of many nano and micro entrepreneurs where personal and business funds overlap, often referred to as “halo-halo funds.”
The GCash Pera Outlet Plus Android merchant app helps address this challenge by providing a dedicated platform for business transactions. With a basic wallet limit of up to ₱500,000 and a detailed transaction history, store owners can monitor earnings and expenses without mixing them with personal funds. The platform also includes features designed to make everyday transactions easier and more secure, including the “My Suki” feature that lets them save the details of regular customers for faster repeat transactions and less risk of sending funds to the wrong number.
Jeni Ann T. Baran, owner of Mini Convinie store and GCash Pera Outlet partner in Luna St., La Paz, Iloilo. “GCash has been a huge help to our business, providing us with extra income. It’s also been beneficial for our customers—not just students, but everyone who needs a quick and easy way to handle their daily transactions, like paying bills, credit cards, water bills, and even buying load. Lately, we’ve seen more cash-in transactions. Cash-outs have slowed down a bit since the student enrollment period ended, but business is picking up again because we're currently running a promotion with no transaction fees for cash-ins,” said Jeni Ann Baran, owner of Mini Convinie store.
Building trust in communities
For neighborhood stores, trust plays an important role in attracting customers. To support partners in building credibility, GCash provides GCash Pera Outlet signage and merchandising materials that clearly identify their stores as trusted financial service providers, reinforcing confidence in the transactions they conduct there.
Cindy Bayon-on, a second generation owner of Cindy and Nico Dried Fish at Taboan, Cebu City has turned to GCash as a source of income since the pandemic hit the traditional way of transactions among business owners, having store identity signages makes it easy for customers to understand your business product and services offering. “My parents founded this store years ago, and I joined them to help manage it two years back. After the pandemic, we started using GCash because customers kept asking for it. Now, especially during the Sinulog Festival, it's been a huge help. Tourists buying pasalubong are often in a hurry to see the next event. With GCash, transactions are quick and hassle-free—it's convenient for us and for our customers, which makes business much smoother,” shared Cindy Bayon-on, GCash Pera Outlet partner in Cebu City.
Advancing the vision of finance for all
Accessibility remains central to the program. Entrepreneurs who want to become GCash Pera Outlet partners can apply with an Android Smart Phone, a valid ID, a fully verified GCash account or a business document, and a photo of their storefront, allowing even small community stores to participate.
As Dapul concluded, “Our mission is financial inclusion—finance for all. We want to reach beyond the cities and bring digital services to more communities. Our vision is that when you leave your home and walk a few steps to the nearest sari-sari store, you already have digital financial services available there. Convenience encourages more participation in the digital economy.”
By empowering women-led microbusinesses and transforming neighborhood stores into digital financial hubs, GCash Pera Outlet is helping strengthen household livelihoods while supporting the broader goal of inclusive economic growth across the Philippines.
For more information, visit www.gcash.com.
