BIZ BUZZ: Is BPI taking away GCash’s biggest edge?

As excitement builds over GCash’s planned initial public offering (IPO), another development in the digital payments space is quietly fueling debate among market watchers: BPI’s decision to scrap InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees for transactions made through its digital channels.

The timing is hard to ignore.

For years, fintech players built much of their appeal around offering cheaper and more convenient alternatives to traditional banking services. By removing transfer charges, banks are beginning to erase one of those early advantages.

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This has led some investors to wonder whether GCash’s growth story could face fresh questions just as parent firm Mynt prepares for what could become the country’s biggest initial public offering.

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According to Trading Edge chief investment strategist Ron Acoba, free bank transfers could intensify competition in digital payments and create a more level playing field between banks and fintech firms.

As banks improve their digital capabilities and lower transaction costs, investors may start scrutinizing whether GCash can continue delivering the same pace of user growth and transaction volume expansion that helped make it the country’s dominant finance app.

Still, Acoba believes the threat is manageable.

Unlike a pure payments platform, GCash has evolved into a broader ecosystem that includes lending, savings, investments, insurance and merchant services. In the long run, he said, the company’s valuation will likely depend more on user engagement, monetization and profitability than on transfer fees alone.

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Others even see BPI’s move as an unexpected boost for GCash.

For China Bank Capital managing director Juan Paolo Colet, eliminating transfer fees removes the friction of moving money from bank accounts into digital wallets, making it easier for users to access GCash’s higher-margin financial products.

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In that sense, the latest move by traditional banks may not be a threat to GCash’s IPO narrative after all. It could simply mark the next stage of competition—one where the battle shifts from payments to who can better keep customers inside their financial ecosystem. —Emmanuel John B. Abris

SSI taps ex-BPI Capital chief for board seat

Luxury retailer SSI Group Inc. is turning to a familiar face from the banking world as it refreshes its board lineup.

The company has nominated former Roland Gerard “Junie” R. Veloso Jr. for election to its board, bringing in a veteran investment banker with more than three decades of experience in corporate finance and capital markets.

Veloso retired last year after serving as president and chief executive officer of BPI Capital Corp. and chair of BPI Securities Corp. Before joining the BPI group, he headed wholesale banking operations at HSBC Philippines.

The move comes as long-serving independent director Carlo L. Katigbak, ABS-CBN Corp. president and CEO, steps down after reaching the Securities and Exchange Commission’s maximum term limit for independent directors.

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But Katigbak is not leaving entirely. SSI said the former director, who served on the board for 12 years, will stay on as special adviser, allowing the retailer to retain his institutional knowledge while making room for fresh expertise in the boardroom. —Emmanuel John B. Abris