Digital Cotabato: Streamlining Local Taxes and Fees with the City’s Ongoing GCash Integration
Paying government fees in Cotabato City has become faster, safer, and more convenient as the local government unit (LGU) officially rolled out cashless payment options with GCash, the Philippines’ leading finance superapp and largest cashless ecosystem. Since the partnership launch in May 2024, the initiative has introduced Scan to Pay and Bills Pay features that allow citizens to settle local taxes and fees directly from their mobile phones using the GCash app. This effort eliminates long lines at city offices and reduces the risks that come with manual cash transactions. The move addresses long-standing challenges in an LGU’s collection system: prolonged queues, cash-handling inefficiencies, limited payment channels, and the lack of digital infrastructure. These issues have affected operations, LGU employees, and constituents. Through the Scan to Pay feature, users can simply scan a QR code displayed in city offices to pay instantly. The Bills Pay feature, on the ...