I decided last week to finally set up an alternative payment application for my coming online transactions involving money especially fiat(in Phil. Peso). The payment app is called GCash, probably the leading cashless payment system in the country. Though it does not support any cryptocurrencies available in the country, I find this app very convenient to use and offers a variety of rewards to their users via point system. They also offer a fee-less bank transaction and it happens that my bank account is available for cashing in/out without the need to further verifying it.
And that week also, I made my first money transfers and online payments/purchases.
Along the way of using the app, I discovered something very fulfilling to do that makes the app very important to utilize. They have this GCash Forest feature that promotes forest rehabilitation for those critical watersheds in the country.
What is GCash Forest?
GCash Forest is a new feature that gives you the power to plant and grow real trees -- all through the GCash App.
Simply by using the app's features like bank transfers, payments, and purchases or even small donations, you are also contributing to the restoration of those damaged forests and rehabilitation of biodiversity and endangered wildlife.
You use the app, you get the points(green energy), you use the points to plant trees!
How does it work?
There are 3 ways to earn these green energy points. First which I haven't tested yet, is converting your daily energy into green energy. This is done by connecting your health application to your GCash account. I will try to make a separate post about this. This seems to be the easiest way to earn points.
Second is by refusing to use those single-use plastics in selected green merchants. I haven't tested this one also. Visit this to know more about their collaboration with those merchants.
The last way is by simply using the app's functions. Functions and features of the app with corresponding energy points that the user gets are shown in the image below. The largest point given is for those users paying their bills online.
By going cashless, you promote a greener environment as you help in the reduction of carbon emission. It is an indirect way of helping the environment.
Collect points to adopt a tree
Once you have gathered enough green energy points, you get to choose a tree to adopt. This time they're offering the Yakal tree to be adopted with the corresponding points of 20,560 green energy points. Yes, that's a long way of using the app to successfully adopt a Yakal tree.
My road to adopting a tree!
So I made a decision to myself that I will pursue this goal of adopting a single tree for the Ipo Watershed. That's my seedling shown below. Indeed, it will be a long journey.
So far, I have earned some decent energy points already from my previous transactions. A total of 758g for 3 bank transfers, 1 payment bill, and 2 cash-ins.
This is the current status of my Yakal tree. Yakal tree is endemic in the Philippines and they're pushing this forward to produce more of these native trees for Ipo Watershed.
I think they have stopped offering the Narra and Dungon trees. But let's see what happens if they're also filled with energy points I'm earning. As you can see, the three of them were filled with the same amount of points I previously earned. I am so excited with this.
I am also excited to earn more energy points using the health app now that some things are slowly moving around the place freely.
So that's it for now. Thank you for dropping by! This is my contribution to the #earthdeeds initiative of 