GCash says fintech could help facilitate fund transfers amid national emergency due to Covid-19

With restricted mobility and limited options due to the enhanced community quarantine of the whole island of Luzon and local lockdowns of other cities and provinces, Filipinos may opt to send and receive money to and from their loved ones via their mobile phones. 

Aside from mobile wallets being more convenient -- as anyone with a mobile digital finance account could transfer money anytime and anywhere -- the use of financial technology for fund transfers also supports the government’s initiative of keeping people in their homes. 

Smart lets you have more ways to be there for each other with Free Stories for All

The paradox of “social distancing” in this time of COVID-19 is that we also need all the more to stay in touch while we stay at home.

With its new “Free Stories For All,” PLDT wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. is giving its prepaid subscribers a better way to stay safe, connected, informed, and, to simply be there for those who matter to us so we may all pull through during these difficult times.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard Launch Initiative to Speed Development and Access to Therapies for COVID-19

COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will coordinate R&D efforts and remove barriers to drug development and scale-up to address the epidemic

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard today committed up to $125 million in seed funding to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling-up treatments. The partners are committed to equitable access, including making products available and affordable in low-resource settings. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will play a catalytic role by accelerating and evaluating new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients with COVID-19 in the immediate term, and other viral pathogens in the longer-term. Currently there are no broad-spectrum antivirals or immunotherapies available for the fight against emerging pathogens, and none approved for use on COVID-19. 

#OneAgainstCOVID19: Donate to Philippine Red Cross, UNICEF,Caritas Manila, Oxfam Pilipinas, and others through PayMaya

Now you can donate to various charitable foundations and humanitarian agencies mobilizing relief and response efforts against COVID-19 through PayMaya's digital payments platform. The one-stop digital donation facility that can be accessed online or in-app is part of #OneAgainstCOVID19 drive that PayMaya launched with various partners to help raise funds for frontliners and the most vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic. 

“In this time of great and urgent need, coming together in the traditional spirit of bayanihan becomes ever more important so that no one gets left behind. This #OneAgainstCOVID19 harnesses the power of collaboration and digital payments as we fight this global pandemic,” said PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando B. Vea. 

Who Really Made A Difference This Times Of COVID-19

This pandemic has really changed almost every nation on earth today, even the industrialized nations are scrambling on what measures to do during these times. In containing and flattening the curve of infection, everyone is asked to do their part as normal activities are halted and everyone is advised to practice social distancing and proper hand washing.

The government as a national response did propose measures such as the Enhanced Community Quarantine which places the island of Luzon into strict measures to restrict flow of people and reduce infection. However it does feel that many of the provisions and memorandum have a lot of questions needed to be clarified in which makes the situation more complicated. With public transportation stopped, it also affects the frontliners who are the most critical force of the situation are put into more stress and risk.

#FightCOVID19: GCash users may now support frontline health workers and hospitals via fintech platform

GCash, the leading mobile wallet in the Philippines, encourages Filipinos to support the #FightCOVID19 campaign, a digital donation drive that aims to assist the frontline health workers and hospitals combat the dreaded novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

The donation drive, done via the GCash app, will provide GCash users with an avenue to support the ongoing collective initiative to mitigate the spread of the global pandemic in the country. By donating money via GCash, Filipinos no longer have to physically go to the offices of social groups or hospitals to support the fight against the deadly virus. 

Proceeds of #FightCOVID19 will be equally divided among the seven non-government organization partners of GCash, namely: the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), World Vision, UP Medical Foundation, PGH Foundation, Inc., ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, and Ayala Foundation. 

7 Safety Tips for your Family at Home

Apply these simple steps and avoid the spread of virus

Safety starts at home. Maintaining a clean and healthy environment at home is important to safeguard yourself and your family from any illnesses.

Here are seven tips to keep your family safe at home:

Wash your hands often

Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. Soap helps kill germs and viruses that are invisible to the eye, which simply washing with water can’t do. Always use hand sanitizer with 70% alcohol.

Wear a mask, and don’t touch your face

If you are sick, whether it’s with COVID-19 or any other illness, wear a face mask wherever you go to stop the spread of your illness. You should also avoid touching your mouth, eyes, and nose, as it’s through those body parts that germs and viruses enter the body.

How to make the switch from office to home office

More and more companies are implementing a work-from-home scheme to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. For many employees, this sounds like a dream (No traffic! No need to leave the house!) but there are preparations to be made to ensure productivity. Working from home is also a good chance to strengthen your values—both your own and your family’s.

Here are seven essential tips in making the switch from office to home office:

Begin with a grateful heart. In these trying times, the ability to work from home is something to be thankful for. You’re assured of a steady income and you get to stay safe and healthy and protect your family from getting sick as well.

Jollibee launches TikTok channel, challenges users to act out #KwentongJollibee scenes

Keeping the #KwentongJollibee fever more alive than ever, Jollibee brings Filipinos a brand-new outlet where they can showcase their flair for singing, dancing, and acting, to be shared to a wider audience. Aspiring artists and content creators can share their creativity and talents as Jollibee launches its new channel on one of today’s fastest growing and widely-used social media platforms, TikTok, which has garnered over 1.5 billion downloads.

The #KwentongJollibee TikTok challenge, which encourages users to duet or lip sync the juicy bits of their favorite episode, has swiftly gained 12.7 million views shorty after it was launched. Done in partnership with BBH Singapore, this is the first time that Jollibee utilizes this platform to engage with avid fans of its hit Valentine series.

Singapore R&B trio brb. drops highly anticipated debut album relationsh*t via Umami Records

Singapore r&b trio brb. has released their debut album relationsh*t via indie label Umami Records. Featuring two previously unreleased tracks, ‘do me right’ and ‘better’, and with two singles ‘cool with it’ and ‘talking to myself’ already passing a million streams on Spotify, the EP encapsulates the evocative reflections and textures of a prolific young band rapidly establishing themselves in the r&b scene.

relationsh*t showcases the trio’s thriving repertoire of songs about the highs and heartbreaks of romance, unravelling the ambiguous and timeless motif of love into its progression from thrilling ambivalence to inevitable submission and/or extinction. The release highlights include ‘do me right’ and ‘better’, two new tracks that uphold and surpass the band’s platinum standard. The band in particular picks out ‘do me right’, as “a snapshot of the distinctive pain of the discovery process of a partner’s unfaithfulness, one that is its own kind and can never be derived from anything else”. The tracks echo brb.’s distinct brand of funk-pop electronica, distilling different musical varieties into their very own uniquely refined embodiment of R&B that has bewitched young fans everywhere since their debut just over a year ago.