How does GCash work for online payments?
GCash is a redirect payment. The shopper chooses GCash at checkout and is sent to GCash to approve the payment. PayMongo’s documentation sets out the steps: the merchant creates the payment, the shopper is redirected to a GCash page to authorise it, then returns to the merchant’s site, and the outcome arrives by webhook as paid or failed. Xendit sends desktop shoppers to a web page and mobile shoppers to the app through a deep link. PayMongo notes that GCash now requires the payment to be completed inside the GCash mobile app, so a native shopping app has to handle the gcash:// link or the “Open in GCash” button may fail silently.
Both Xendit and PayMongo accept GCash payments from PHP 1 to PHP 100,000. The shopper’s own wallet limits still apply, and PayMongo warns that limits on unverified GCash accounts can make a payment fail even below the maximum. The approval window depends on the provider. A Xendit payment request expires after 15 minutes, while PayMongo gives the shopper 4 hours before the payment returns to waiting for a payment method.
GCash can also be saved for later charges. Xendit offers a separate link-and-pay channel for recurring payments, which needs extra activation with the partner, and PayMongo can tokenise a shopper’s GCash wallet for recurring payments through binding and agreements.
Where and how do shoppers use GCash?
GCash is the e-wallet most Filipinos already have. Mynt, the parent company, reported in its preliminary prospectus, as summarised by Insider PH, that GCash had 40.4 million monthly active users on 31 March 2026. That is almost 55% of Philippine adults and about four times the nearest competitor. The same filing counts 2.1 million QR merchants, 1.3 million cash-in and cash-out locations, an average of 62.4 million transactions a day and gross transaction value of PHP 17.03 trillion in 2025.
Online, it is the wallet shoppers look for. The Xendit and Cube Ecommerce Payments Momentum Report 2026 says GCash dominates the Philippine e-wallet market, and that an unavailable payment method is the top reason Filipino shoppers abandon a purchase, cited by 41%.
The market around it is going digital. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas found that digital payments made up 64.69% of retail transaction volume in 2025, up from 57.45% in 2024. Merchant payments were 74.31% of electronic payment transactions, and QR Ph, the national QR code, grew from 174.34 million transactions in 2024 to 2.47 billion in 2025.
GCash is more than a wallet. Mynt’s release for the first quarter of 2026 lists lending, investing, insurance and international transfers to foreign banks or e-wallets in 16 countries. GCash’s business site lists merchant products including In-Store QR, Webpay and Funds Disbursement.
What rules and costs should merchants know?
Refunds are supported. Xendit and PayMongo both allow full and partial GCash refunds within 180 days of the payment, and Xendit allows several partial refunds on one payment. PayMongo says GCash refunds reflect within 24 hours.
Settlement takes a couple of days. Xendit lists GCash settlement at T+2. Fees and payout timing are set in each provider’s agreement with the merchant.
Merchant acceptance is regulated. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued Circular No. 1198, the Regulatory Framework for Merchant Payment Acceptance Activities, which covers merchant acquisition and payment acceptance services.
Disputes are possible. The shopper approves each payment in their own GCash app, and PayMongo runs a dispute process for wallet payments as well as cards, so order and delivery records matter.
How would Omno handle GCash?
- One checkout: GCash would appear in the Omno hosted checkout next to cards, wallets, local methods and crypto, with the redirect or app deep link handled on the page. Merchants with their own payment screens would use Direct Links on their own buttons.
- Routing rules: The merchant would set rules that send PHP payments to a connected provider that supports GCash. Omno connects through those providers; it is not an acquirer and does not hold funds.
- Cascading: In the hosted checkout, if the chosen provider is unavailable or rejects the request before the shopper is redirected, the payment would move to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Status and payouts: The order would stay pending until the shopper approves in GCash, and the final result would reach the merchant by webhook. Payouts to GCash wallets would depend on the provider offering disbursements.
What should merchants plan for?
Handle the app hand-off. Shoppers finish the payment in the GCash app, so mobile apps need the GCash deep link and web pages need a clear return path.
Keep orders pending for the right time. The approval window is 15 minutes at Xendit and 4 hours at PayMongo, so order expiry should match the provider in use.
Offer a second method for large baskets. Payments above PHP 100,000, or above an unverified shopper’s own limit, will fail, so cards or QR Ph should stay available.
Refund within 180 days and plan cash flow around T+2 settlement.