GCash, CICC block illegal merchants

(Photo: https://www.bworldonline.com/banking-finance/2026/03/12/735640/ginsure-bullish-on-growth-as-many-gcash-users-remain-uninsured/

ELECTRONIC wallet platform GCash and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) have blocked more than 3,200 merchants connected with illicit activities like the operations of illegal online gambling since 2025.

In a media release over the weekend, it said that this action also prevented illegal operators from misusing the QRPh, the Philippines’ national standard for QR code payments, that redirects to fake GCash payments.

“By proactively blocking unauthorized actors and reporting them to our regulators and authorities, we are helping protect Filipinos and maintain trust in the country’s digital financial ecosystem,” GCash operator G-Xchange, Inc. Chief Information and Security Officer Miguel Geronilla said.

The electronic wallet platform said it works with CICC and the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group. It said that entities trying to misuse the application and QRPh without authorization will be flagged, suspended, and reported.

“GCash uses proactive monitoring to identify and disable these connections, reporting the sites to regulators and the CICC to support government enforcement,” it said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose