DIGITAL solutions provider Globe said that they are in talks with various international partners, in their bid to have an easier, more secure, and more convenient way to receive remittances via GCash.
“We are also continuously working with our international partners to make remittance sending more affordable to our OFWs,” Jules Abalos, Head of International Business, GCash said in a message sent to CurrentPH.
“This includes closer collaboration with remittance companies to find the most economical and sustainable way of serving our customers, especially Filipinos abroad,” he added.
Abalos also said that so far, “these efforts have already yielded positive results as sending remittances to GCash from the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong through some of our partners is already free.
He added that with their Finance for All also means going beyond Philippine shores, with the support and guidance of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, they launched GCash Overseas, where Filipinos in Australia, Japan, Italy, the US, Canada, and the UK may download and register for the GCash app using international numbers.
“Now our kababayans in those countries can support their loved ones and family back home by sending money anytime, paying their bills, and buying them prepaid loads,” Abalos said.
Earlier, Makati City Rep. Luis N. Campos Jr. urged Philippine-based mobile-money operators to go global and help drive down high remittance charges that have been a burden to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Campos said he wants mobile-money operators to aggressively compete with banks in the remittance market to put a downward pressure on transaction costs.
Mobile money allows users to receive, store and transfer funds using their handheld devices.
Citing the World Bank’s “Remittance Prices Worldwide” report, Campos said OFWs currently pay an average of 6.3 percent (of the amount sent) in fees to send $200 home to their families.
At present, banks dominate 87 percent of the remittance market and they also collect the highest fees at an average of 11.69 percent of the amount sent, according to Campos.
Catherine R. Cueto
