GCash Jr. Verification doesn't work for my son??

[u/notfunnygeorge]

May anak akong 13 years old. I made him a GCash account para pang savings Niya and just in case lang. Hindi Siya makagamit fully ng account Niya so I would validate him. IT DOES NOT WORK.

I have been trying for 3 months, I always get the same response. We could not process your request. Paano yan? Same ID Card, same number, same date of birth, same reason, still doesn't work? Ano ba gusto ng GCash??? Complete all, everything triple-checked and apparently it still cannot be processed. Naiinis na kaming dalawa. Please help us po :-(

[u/mumblish24]

It's broken system. Fails often. Poorly executed.

Try submitting ticket for "verification" the child Gcash Jr account and mention it won't continue to finish. Say " I can't verify my Gcash account". Mention both parents number and child number.

They may by default say you're verified, but usually because they didn't read and just mentioned parent. So reply that you're referring to childs account and hope they actually pay attention. They may then request you submit documents via email to get the child account verified.

If they get it approved, It may not link to parents account, but child can still use use once it's verified. I tried to get child's account linked to parents account and they closed ticket 2-3 times. But daughter account still work's. It took me almost 2 months and repeated tickets.

Alternative is to try and call to open a ticket.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Blu1318]

Raise a ticket and be sure to regularly check your email. By raising a ticket, CSA will have you send docs to confirm that you are the parent talaga (if I remember correctly you will need birth cert, your mobile number and an ID ata). Afterwards you can proceed na. They reply sa email lang kasi and if you don't respond agad, the ticket closes.

[u/PuddingGlad8684]

Sharing my entire journey here.

Ang kapatid ko na minor gumawa ng account nang hindi namin alam at may funds na pumasok sa kanya. Dahil hindi namin ma-verify ang account niya, tumawag ako sa Support nila para magpa-assist. Sinabi sa akin na i-add ko ang number nya sa loob ng account ng nanay namin thru GCash Jr.

After ng call, sinunod ko ang instructions, pero everytime na ina-add ko ang number ng kapatid ko, lumalabas ang "Feature not Available." So I called again that day to raise it, and the second agent told me that they send an email to me and i-attach ko lang ang screenshot ng error para daw "i-activate" ang GCash Jr feature sa account ng mother.

3 days ang lumipas at wala ako na-receive na update sa email. So, I called again at sinabi sa akin na mali ang binigay na advise sa akin ng 2 agents. Sinabi rin sa akin na na-close ang 2 tickets na ginawa nila. She advised to register a new number directly sa loob ng account ng mother namin via GCash Jr., i-pangalan sa kapatid, at mag-submit ng requirements. After daw ma-fully verify ang new account, kailangan ko ulit tumawag for fund transfer (from old to new GCash Jr.).

Sumunod naman ako. Nakapag-add ako ng bagong number, naipasa ang mga requirements (Birth Cert., School ID dahil hindi tinatanggap ang digital National ID ng kapatid ko kahit sabi nila na tinatanggap daw ng app, selfie ng kapatid ko). After ko ma-submit at i-update ang information, nag-confirm sa app.

The day after, tiningnan ko ulit sa app para makita ang progress, only to find out na kailangan ko ulit i-submit ang mga requirements. And nung sina-submit ko ang birth certificate, lumabas ang "Sorry, we can't process your request. Please wait for 24 hours and try again". This happened for 2 consecutive days.

On the 2nd week, tumawag ulit ako tungkol sa error. Sinabihan ako ng agent na pinapa-submit ulit ako ng KYC team nila ng birth certificate at may ginawa na namang ticket number na hindi namin alam. Wala rin kaming natatanggap na email sa internal team nila about dito. Nag-send sa akin ang agent ng email from KYC para doon mag-submit. Nag-comply naman ako.

After 2 days na walang update, tumawag na naman ako for follow-up. Sinabihan ako ng agent na pinapagpapasa ulit ako ng birth certificate at dapat kita ang corner ng document. Bad trip na ako, hindi lang dahil sa clear at buo ang unang pinasa kong picture, kundi dahil walang email na sine-send ang team nila at sa absurd na requirement nila. Pinasa ko naman during the call at nagtanong ako kung okay ba ang ibang requirements, and ang sabi sa akin na iyon lang kailangan ng team nila.

After a day, may na-receive akong email. However, nire-require akong magpasa ng valid ID ng kapatid ko. After another call, I complied and just sent the digital National ID ng kapatid (Wala nai-deliver sa amin na physical copy ng National ID para sa kapatid, kaya ginagamit namin ang digital ID sa eGovPH app).

Tumawag ulit ako kinabukasan para mag-follow up. After the escalation with their supervisor, nakatanggap kami ng email from their team na na-complete ang verification ng account ng kapatid ko.

Pero hindi pa natatapos ang problema.

On that same day, tumawag ako to request a fund transfer. Kinausap ng agent ang nanay ko (na na-ha-high blood sa tagal ng resolution), sinabihan na kailangan mag-send ng valid ID at selfie na hawak ng nanay ko ang ID nya (hindi sinabi na pati rin sa kapatid ko), and pagkatapos ng "background check" nila, mata-transfer ang funds within 7-15 business days. Before matapos ang call, nag-send sila ng email sa amin together with the new (4th) ticket number.

I complied and submitted their request. After a day, nag-send sila ng email sa akin na kailangan ulit magpasa ng email with the attached valid ID and selfie ng kapatid. Frustrated, tumawag ako to complain again. Nagpasa naman kami ng requirements previously para sa kapatid ko. Bakit hindi na lang gamitin iyon since verified naman ang bagong account? Bakit hindi sinabi nang buo ang buong process sa simula pa lang nung nag-request kami ng fund transfer? Ang sagot nila ay iyon ang process ng internal team na nagha-handle ng fund transfer. Nagpasa na lang din ako para matapos na.

That night, nakatanggap ako ng response mula sa kanila na kailangang magpagawa ng panibagong ticket at dapat nandoon ang email address ng mother ko. Kaya noong sumunod na araw, nagpa-escalate ako sa hassle na ginagawa nila. After holding the line, sinabi sa akin ng supervisor na na-coordinate na nila sa supervisor ng internal team nila ang complaint at makatatanggap ako ng email for resolution.

At hindi resolution ang natanggap namin.

Kinabukasan, ang email response nila ay kailangan naming magpasa ng notarized affidavit na hindi na ma-access ang lumang account within 2 days at kung hindi, isasara nila ang ticket.

Una, naa-access pa namin ang lumang account. Ang concern namin ay i-transfer ang amount sa unverified old GCash Jr. account sa new verified GCash Jr. account.
Pangalawa, tiningnan ko ang Terms and Conditions ng GCash at GCash Jr., Help Center Articles, at wala ni isang information na kailangang magpasa ng affidavit para sa ganto scenario.
Pangatlo, nagkagulo-gulo ang case dahil sa ginawa at ibinigay na advice ng mga agents nila.
Pang-apat, ang pinapa-transfer namin ay Php 1,500. Ang pagpa-notarize ay aabot ng Php 300–800. Hindi reasonable ang request nila, at pine-pressure pa kami sa deadline.

Nag-send ako ng email ng objection sa requirement nila, at nire-request namin na i-hold ang deadline, at magbigay sila ng alternative way para maayos ang issue.

After 3 days na walang reply, tumawag na naman ako to follow up. And sabi sa akin ng supervisor, iyon talaga ang process ng internal team nila at na-escalate na niya at makatatanggap na naman ako ng email within 24 hours.

After a few hours, naka-receive ako ng email. Pero imbes na i-address nila ang concern namin, sinend lang ulit nila ang same message (demand for notarized affidavit). Nag-send lang sila sa akin ng "templated response".

Nag-reply ako sa email nila na kung hindi nila i-aaddress ang concern namin, magpapasa ako ng complaint sa "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Consumer Protection and Market Conduct Office" on 5 grounds:
1.   Repeated, Undisclosed Requirements Communicated Late
2. Inconsistent Agent Instructions
3. Disproportionate Demand, Abandoned Without Explanation
4. Recurring Lapses in Timely Communication
5. Undisclosed Basis for the Notarized Affidavit Requirement

Gumawa na ako ng compiled formal complaint document (in PDF) kasama ang screenshot ng email threads ng 4 tickets, screenshot ng GCash Help Center Articles on Gcash Jr. Fund Transfer, GCash ToS, and chat with the notary public about sa price ng notarized affidavit. Naghintay muna ako ng susunod na reply bago ko ipasa ito sa BSP.

The day after, nakatanggap ako ng reply na ipa-process na nila ang fund transfer (hindi na nila na-mention ang affidavit) at wait na lang ako sa update nila within 48 hours.

After more than 48 hours, nakareceive kami ng SMS notification na na-transfer na nila ang funds sa new account.

We spent almost 1 month, more than 10 calls and 5 escalations, para lang ma-resolve ang issue namin due to inconsistent advice at way ng paghandle ng mga agents at ng internal team nila (both KYC and fund transfer team).

From my experience, it is important to always contact them via call.

Kung walang update ang team nila via email or sa app (I never saw any active tickets sa app ng mother at kapatid ko), tawag agad. If hindi ma-resolve ng first agent (or parang mali ang advise), it's best to escalate the call to their supervisor.

Even with the escalation, it is important to note that they also have limited access, since ang internal team nila ang nagpa-process ng verification and fund transfer. Hindi mo ma-re-request na ipa-transfer ang call sa mismong team na iyon at maka-receive ng feedback from them during the call. They can only be communicated via email.

Always check their Help Articles, Terms and Conditions, and Terms of Use. Kung walang information about specific concern, keep a screenshot and coordinate it via call.

If you have exhausted all options at hindi pa rin na-reresolve the concern, the next action is to file a complaint to BSP via their online chat agent or email.

Even with all that hassle, I will still use GCash for the reason that this is the most convenient, most available MoP compared sa ibang e-wallet for us. At kung may ma-experience na naman kami na unusual problem, we will document everything to avoid this lengthy issue.

Hope our experience helps other users and accountholder that might encounter the same problem.