In the 2020s, Philippines went through a fintech revolution. 80% of unbanked Filipinos or 90 million users were caught in the Gcash and PayMaya (now Maya) fintech war which had metamorphosized the country.

But this war is part of a broader picture.

From an international standpoint it seems like a proxy war between the China companies, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tencent⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (who backed Maya) and Alibaba (Gcash). But domestically the rivalry actually extends decades earlier as both fintech companies are offshoots from the 2 largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, PLDT (who backed Maya) and Globe Telecom (Gcash).

The latter, Globe Telecom is one of the greatest success stories in the Philippines, because back then PLDT had over twice the number of users, and operating cash flow, with about 4 times the market value as Globe Telecom.

But today? Globe Telecom had come to compete against PLDT as equals.

In Ep 1. We reveal the disproportionate rise of PLDT, forged during a time of great unfairness in the Marcos Ferdinand era. In Ep 2. We explain the astronomical challenges ahead of Globe Telecom to beat PLDT, and introduce the man responsible in leading the charge - Ernest Cu. In Ep 3. We explore into the rapid transformation that Globe Telecom underwent, eventually beating out PLDT. In Ep 4. We dive head first into the fintech wars between Gcash and Maya, which birth the country's first 2 unicorns. In Ep 5 (Guest). We speak to Maya's Chief Marketing Officer, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pepe Torres⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to understand more about the on-going fintech wars.

In Ep 6 (Guest). We speak to Gcash's Chief Marketing Officer, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Neil Trinidad⁠ to understand more about the on-going fintech wars.

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If you love the style of Empires, and want similar content, check out:

📝💕 "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Post, Love⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠", Essays on Love, Life and Everything in Between. (On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

🔪🩸 "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Heinous⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠", A Revive Look at the Most Heinous Crimes in Asia. (On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

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Our partner this week:

What's AP? Araling Panlipunan Rebooted