MANILA – For half the price of a fried chicken meal, users of Globe Telecom's mobile wallet platform GCash can get started on investing with a few taps on their mobile phone, company officials said.

GCash Invest Money, a partnership between Globe Telecom, Ant Financial and Ayala Corp's Mynt, and ATRAM Trust Corp hopes to make investing "super easy and affordable" with its P50 minimum investment, said product head Izza Castelo.

"It's specifically designed for people who are beginners in investments," Castelo told ABS-CBN News.

At roughly half the cost of a Jollibee Chickenjoy meal or a third of a Starbucks espresso drink, "there’s no reason not to try,” she said.

The product removes "roadblocks" to investing such as high cost, said ATRAM assistant vice president and fixed income portfolio manager Miguel Liboro.

Regular investments require a minimum of P5,000 to P10,000.

To invest, a user needs a verified GCash account and at least P50 in funds. There's also no need for a bank account. Users will be vetted by ATRAM before they can start to invest.

The money is invested in time deposit accounts which yield higher returns compared to typical savings accounts. There is no minimum holding period and no redemption charge when users decide to withdraw, he said.

"It is the easiest product to wrap your mind around. If you’re a new investor, you’re afraid that you’re going to lose money. Simplistically, the money that you pullout, will never be lower than the money that you put in," Liboro said.

GCash hopes to sign up a "pretty big chunk" of its users on the investment platform, Castelo said.

The product was rolled out to users in January after undergoing beta testing since August last year. Soon, the partnership will introduce "riskier" funds for the more sophisticated users and for beginner investors to graduate to, she said.

"They will expose themselves to risks of equities and other more volatile investment vehicles but you need to start slowly, to crawl before you sprint,” Liboro said.