GCash New App Design Being Tested, with Mixed Reviews

Users are receiving an updated home screen on their GCash app, with new colors, typeface, and branding.

Over the past couple of weeks, GCash has been testing a new home screen design with what looks to be a new brand refresh, focusing more on the round form of their current logo and applying it to the rest of the iconography and typography.

The home screen uses Gotham Rounded as its new typeface, with noticeably brighter shades of blue, a reorganized top area, and a much more defined bottom row.

This is GCash’s third app design from the first design in 2017 that followed Globe Telecom’s old brand guidelines and the 2019 GCash-specific brand refresh from Serious Studio.

Why The New GCash App Design?

The recent app design refresh takes cues from the most recognizable part of the GCash identity: the “G” icon in the logo. The new design feels larger and rounder—more friendly, and more accessible.

For example, with the change of the numerical font from Poppins to Gotham Rounded, the numerical value of, let’s say your current balance, is much more readable from a quick glance, especially when payment in-person is concerned. It seems to be an evolution to take it further away from the pre-2019 GCash app design.

While the more rounded design takes away and reduces the “professionalism” that was sought after in the 2019 brand refresh, it allows GCash to reach a broader base of the Filipino public and everyday person and double down on its admittedly leading market position amongst other e-wallets as well as its ubiquity in modern Filipino life. In such a way, it looks less like a banking app and more like a lifestyle tool.

Weird timing and an awkward reception

There is a sort of weird timing as well that this comes on the heels of its biggest rival PayMaya’s recent complete rebrand into Maya, aiming to be as widespread in usage as GCash by re-tooling the front page of the app also.

The public reception towards the new design has been mixed for the most part on social media. While some may praise the focus on accessibility, others were dissatisfied with the change of mood and layout, and most are really just confused.

This is to be expected with brand redesigns, and effectiveness should be measured on how much it helps in the long-term rather than the short-term, alongside user research.

The rest of the app still uses the same branding from the 2019 brand refresh created by Serious Studio. It is not determined whether there will be a full rebranding of the app or the entirety of the GCash brand—and if so—when it will be.

You may be able to check out the new home page design for yourself by updating GCash to v5.54.0:685 or later. It is available now on both iOS and Android.