More Filipinos are getting the chance to secure a National ID and enter the country’s rapidly expanding digital financial system without having to travel far from home, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and GCash deepen their push into barangays and underserved communities.
Through PSA co-location activities and GCash Barangay Outposts, more than 2,000 Filipinos in over 25 barangays nationwide have so far been assisted in obtaining National IDs and opening verified GCash accounts, according to reports on the initiative.
The numbers may appear modest against the Philippines’ population, but the program addresses a problem that has long kept millions of people outside the formal financial system: proving who they are.
For Filipinos without passports, driver’s licenses or other commonly used government identification, obtaining a National ID can provide the missing document needed to access regulated financial services.
GCash currently accepts the physical National ID card, paper ePhilID and Digital National ID for account verification. PSA has also confirmed that all three formats can be used under its continuing partnership with the mobile wallet provider.
One ID can open a much bigger digital door
The importance of that access is growing as the Philippines becomes increasingly cash-lite.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ latest E-Payments Measurement report shows that digital payments accounted for 64.69% of the volume of Philippine retail transactions in 2025, sharply higher than 57.45% a year earlier.
That translated to about 3.94 billion digital transactions out of 6.09 billion retail transactions during the year. Merchant payments were the biggest driver, accounting for 74.31% of electronic payment transactions.
Yet participation in that digital economy remains uneven.
The BSP’s 2025 Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey found that only 50% of Filipino adults individually owned a formal financial account, compared with 56% in 2021. E-money account ownership stood at 36%, highlighting both the huge role of digital wallets and the remaining inclusion gap.
That is where the PSA-GCash partnership is trying to make a difference.
Instead of expecting residents to separately locate a National ID registration center and then complete an e-wallet verification process, community-based activities bring the services closer together.
From street vending to a possible return to school
The InsiderPH report highlighted the case of Danielle, a 19-year-old who put her studies on hold and worked as a street vendor to help support her family.
Without an accepted government ID, she had difficulty opening formal financial accounts. After completing National ID registration, she became able to use the ID for GCash verification and potentially gain access to services that could help her manage earnings and expand her livelihood.
Other beneficiaries cited in the program include a Bulacan housewife who hopes to establish a neighborhood payment outlet and workers who previously had to physically travel to stores whenever they needed to send money to relatives.
The difference may seem simple: an identification document and a mobile wallet.
But for someone operating largely in cash, those two things can mean the ability to receive and transfer money remotely, pay bills, establish a transaction history and potentially qualify for additional regulated financial products.
It is important, however, to distinguish access from automatic eligibility. Opening and verifying a GCash account does not automatically entitle a customer to a loan or other credit product. Lending remains subject to the provider’s eligibility and credit-assessment requirements.
GCash parent Mynt said its lending arm, Fuse Financing, had disbursed ₱362 billion in loans to 10.5 million unique borrowers as of the end of 2025, illustrating the scale digital credit has already reached in the country.
The PSA-GCash partnership has been building for years
The current barangay push is part of a broader collaboration rather than a one-off registration drive.
In 2024, PSA and GCash were already conducting “KYC On-The-Go” community events where residents could register for the National ID, obtain an ePhilID or receive help downloading a Digital National ID while also getting assistance opening a GCash account.
At one Bulacan State University activity, PSA said 58 students registered for the National ID, 106 obtained an ePhilID and 46 were assisted with their Digital National ID. Seventy-five people were subsequently able to open GCash accounts using their identification.
The partnership was expanded in April 2025 through a formal co-location agreement between PSA and G-Xchange Inc., the operator of GCash, allowing wallet-account services to be offered alongside National ID mobile registration activities.
The model has since been applied to other government programs.
In July 2026, for example, PSA personnel in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao provided onsite National ID registration and ePhilID issuance during the launch of the Bangsamoro Card powered by GCash, helping social-assistance beneficiaries complete the identity verification required for fully verified GCash accounts.
The bigger story is no longer just about getting an ID
The National ID was designed as proof of identity. But as more government agencies, banks and fintech platforms integrate it into digital services, its economic importance is expanding.
For the PSA and GCash, putting National ID registration and financial onboarding in the same barangay can remove two pieces of friction at once: residents get a recognized identity credential, and they can immediately use that credential to enter a digital financial ecosystem.
For policymakers, however, registration numbers will not be the ultimate measure of success.
The harder question is what happens afterward.
If newly verified users can safely save money, receive wages and government assistance, run small businesses, make affordable payments and access appropriately regulated financial products, the initiative could push financial inclusion deeper into communities that traditional banking has struggled to reach.
With nearly two-thirds of Philippine retail transactions already being made digitally by volume, the divide between Filipinos who can participate in that system and those who cannot is becoming increasingly consequential.
The National ID may therefore be turning into something bigger than a government identification card.
For thousands of Filipinos, it could become their first real key to the digital economy.
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