So you’re stuck at home with some extra time on your hands. When you feel like taking a break from all the shows you’ve been watching, perhaps you can make time to figure out how to transition to cashless payments.
We’re dealing with a unique situation right now and cashless transactions is one of the little ways in which we can help with social distancing measures. Not to mention, it’s also pretty convenient.
If you already have a bank account, chances are you’re already using that bank’s mobile app. If not, we encourage you to do so. But we’re not going deep into that. Today, we’re looking at other payment services that will help you go cashless.
GCash
We partnered with GCash a while back for this quick How-To video. But if you don’t feel like watching, the text comes right after.
Before anything else download the app on the App Store, Google Play, or AppGallery.
Step 1. Open the GCash app and enter your mobile number. Tap “Next” to proceed.
Step 2. Fill in the mandatory information. These include your First Name, Last Name, Birthday, Address, Email Address. When you’re done, tap “Next” to proceed
Step 3. Review your information. Gotta make sure everything’s accurate and matches any official ID you have with you. If you have a referral code, input it using the drop down below your information. Afterwards, tap “Next”.
Step 4. Set your Mobile Pin by inputting a 4 digit MPIN. It’s very important that you can easily remember your MPIN. It serves as your password to access your GCash account. You also need it for your future GCash transactions. So yeah, don’t use your birthday or any birthdays of anyone you’re super close with. Protect your MPIN like your life depended on it. Tap “Submit” to move on.
Step 5. You will receive a 6-digit authentication code via SMS in the device authentication page. Enter the code to authenticate your device.
Step 6. Enter your 4-digit GCash MPIN and click ‘Log In’ to enter the app.
Congratulations! You’re now on GCash. There’s a ton that you can do here. This is where I connected my bank account so I’ve been using GCash to move money around my other accounts, transfer money to my family and friends, load up my prepaid sim, and of course the usual in-store transactions. You can also link it to your Lazada account for your online shopping needs.
For more information, visit the GCash Help Center.
PayMaya
PayMaya is very similar to GCash in that they practically let you do the same things. As mentioned earlier, these are making cashless payments, transferring funds, as well as online shopping. Personally, this is the account I used for most of my app subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, and NBA League Pass.
Again, make sure you have the app. Get it on the App Store, Google Play, or AppGallery.
Step1: Register with your name, email and mobile number. The mobile number can be with any network you’re currently using.
Step 2: Create a password. Unlike GCash which uses an MPIN, the PayMaya password is a lot more like the usual passwords you use for your social media accounts. Again, make sure it’s secure and something easy for you to remember.
Step 3: Receive a verification SMS. Enter this verification number on the app.
Step 4: Click the VIEW CARD button.
Step 5: Input your address and birthday.
Step 6: Receive a confirmation that your account has been activated
PayMaya also has these cashback promos every now and then. That means anything you purchase, a percentage of that goes back to your account. Here’s a quick little video on that.
To find how you can maximize PayMaya just head on over to their Support Page.
GrabPay
Grab has surprisingly expanded its GrabPay services to more than just hailing rides, deliveries, and paying for GrabFood.
You can now also do the following:
- Cashless payment for Grab services (GrabCar, GrabFood, GrabExpress, GrabMart)
- Buy prepaid load
- Pay bills (Cablielink, Cignal TV, Destiny Cable, DFA, Easytrip, Globe, Manila Water, Maynilad, Meralco, Metro Cebu Water, MMDA, NBI, Pag-IBIG Fund, PLDT, Sky Cable, Smart, Smart Bro, SSS, Sun Celular, UNICEF, VECO)
- Pay in-store
- Pay online
- Send money for free (person-to-person and bank transfer)
Registering is pretty straightforward. Download the app on the App Store or Google Play, and then register using your phone number, Facebook account, or Google account.
For more on what else you can do with GrabPay and how they’re expanding, you may visit their Help Page.
You can also use these services to donate towards efforts in fighting COVID-19. For other ways to help check out our Where To Donate article.
Apps
Honor, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays
Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular.
Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like Honor, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.
As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Honor is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.
For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.
Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.
That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either Honor or Xiaomi.
SEE ALSO: LE SSERAFIM Chaewon flexes Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display
Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.
If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.
Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.
Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.
SEE ALSO: Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Apps
foodpanda relaunches cult-favorite roast chicken brand after 8 years of persistent search queries
Heritage chain Andok’s returns to the platform, driven entirely by long-term user analytics.
In the world of e-commerce and food delivery, platform algorithms usually dictate what consumers see. But occasionally, consumer behavior is so relentless that it shapes the platform’s strategy.
In a move driven entirely by long-term user analytics, foodpanda has officially relaunched Andok’s, one of the Philippines’ most iconic heritage rotisserie chains, back onto its platform after an eight-year absence.
The search bar as a digital wishlist
The decision to ink the partnership wasn’t just a marketing play. It was a response to an ongoing data anomaly. Despite being offline from the foodpanda platform for eight years, Andok’s consistently ranked as one of the most-searched merchants on the app.
Year after year, users treated the empty search results page as an unofficial wishlist. This persistent search intent gave foodpanda a clear, data-backed signal of pent-up demand.
Prior to the official digital rollout, teaser campaigns on social media validated this demand, generating thousands of organic interactions from users anticipating the return.
Bridging heritage flavor with digital infrastructure
For foodpanda, onboarding a merchant with this level of built-in demand fits its broader strategy of marketplace optimization and hyper-local network expansion, turning a heritage brand into another data point for how legacy retail plugs into delivery infrastructure.
For Andok’s, the integration works as a fast track to digital scale. A legacy quick-service chain skips years of independent app development and reaches customers already using foodpanda’s existing logistics network, on a platform they already check daily.
Andok’s built its following on charcoal spit-roasted chicken, a slow-cooked technique that’s stayed largely unchanged since the brand’s early days, alongside seasoned grilled pork belly.
More recently, the Dokito line extended that following into crispy fried chicken and chicken burgers, broadening the brand’s appeal beyond its original rotisserie format and giving foodpanda a menu with both heritage pull and everyday fast-food convenience.
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