GCash and CIMB have been aggressively promoting their new digital banking platform they call GSave, with high interest rates (as high as 4% p.a.) to lure in GCash users, especially those they described as unbanked.

But are we Filipinos really ready for digital banking?

Not if there are still glitches in the service by GCash and CIMB. Last weekend, I needed to transfer funds from my GCash account to my bank account at once. I didn’t have have enough funds in my GCash account, thus I needed to withdraw funds from my GSave account. The debit to my CIMB GSave account pushed through, but the credit to my GCash didn’t.

That’s the big problem. People wants to keep some of their funds in regular Savings accounts to cover for their emergency or immediate needs. But if those funds are not available when they need them, it defeats their purpose.

So, to GCash and CIMB, if you want people to embrace this new digital banking revolution, you need to make sure the platform is ready.