MANILA - GCash will use the fresh investments it got from Ayala Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) to expand its lending business as it remains focused on financial inclusion, the company's head said on Tuesday.

Martha Sazon, president and CEO of GCash operator Mynt, said lending is "at the core of financial inclusion" and that the Philippine fintech giant will use both the fresh capital and "strategic investors" to further expand this service.

"It's making sure that money is available, especially to those who need it the most and at a rate that's fair for everyone," Sazon said in an interview with ANC Market Edge.

Even as GCash's valuation more than doubled to $5 billion and calls for an initial public offering grow louder, financial inclusion remains the focus of the company, Sazon added.

"Our lending business has been significantly growing, exponentially growing year on year. And that's why these are strategic investors that we got in because we know that they could help in the lending business, not just financially, but in terms of expertise and resources," Sazon said.

She added that fintech is a sunrise industry where there are a lot of opportunities for growth. 

'PRUNING' WHILE GROWING

"But at the same time, in terms of our mission, we're a long way. There's a long way to go for us in terms of financial inclusion. So we focus ourselves on that," Sazon said.  

Around 90 million unique users have "tried" GCash, Sazon said, but further adding to this number is not the Philippine fintech giant's goal as it targets "quality subscribers."

"Actually, that number, we are even looking at pruning it in terms of making sure that we have quality subscribers and customers that we really can grow into good financial position later on. So we are constantly managing the base and making sure that the customer base is healthy. So more than the customer base, our focus is the journey towards financial wellness and financial health."

GCash is so far already available in 17 countries, and the company has partnered with 12,000 banks in the US alone to enable cash into the wallet of Gcash overseas accounts.

"We've also started partnerships in UAE. I think we're now the number two wallet in UAE."

She said the company remains "mission-driven." 

"As I said, there's good business in doing good, so we focus on doing good."