Western Union Joins Forces with Coins.ph to Offer Cross-Border Remittance Services in the Philippines
The blockchain revolution is here to stay, and even enterprises and companies that have been around for decades want to take advantage of the myriad of benefits that it has to offer. It is not surprising, then, that American financial services firm Western Union has joined the party by establishing a strategic alliance with Coins.ph.
Coins.ph is a well known e-wallet provider in the Philippines, and now, thanks to the partnership with Western Union, will be able to allow Filipinos to perform cross border money transfers. The Western Union Company published the news in recent days via a press release.
According to the press release, Western Union will integrate Coins.ph’s blockchain ecosystem into its trademark cross-border platform, with the intention of letting people in the Asian country receive and hold international transfers into their associated Coins.ph electronic wallets.
Broadening Remittance Services
“There are many overseas Filipino workers who send money back home regularly and are always looking for additional remittance options that will make it most convenient for their loved ones to receive money. By pairing Coins.ph’s payments technology with Western Union’s expansive global network, we are giving Filipinos a seamless choice to receive money digitally, on the go,” according to Ron Hose, Coins.ph’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Before enjoying the new feature offered by Western Union and Coins.ph, people will have to sign up for the latter’s wallet, enter a valid ID, and perform an electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) process. According to the published information, Coins.ph will establish a maximum wallet capacity of 100,000 Philippines pesos per month, a little under $2,000 under the exchange rate at the time of writing this piece.
“Over the years, Western Union has fueled innovation centered around the needs of customers, giving them their choice of channels, currencies, access and opportunities to connect with family and friends around the globe. With this collaboration with Coins.ph, we are delighted to offer customers in the Philippines with an unmatched depth of services and capabilities, and convenience right at their fingertips,” were the words of Molly Shea, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Global Money Transfer, Asia Pacific, Western Union.
Almost $35 Billion in Inflows
The Philippines is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to getting remittances, according to data from the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Brief 30. It received more than $34 billion in inflows in 2018, and the number is bound to increase in 2019 as well. More than five million people in the nation have a Coins.ph wallet, and the American financial services company has over 12,000 agencies there.
In March, Western Union established an alliance with Thunes, a Stellar Lumens (XLM)’s collaborator, to allow its customers to transfer money directly to mobile wallets at a global scale. The American firm stated that the feature is supposed to increase financial inclusion in the planet by making access to banking services easier for those that cannot enjoy them.
The money remittance industry is among the most benefited by blockchain technology. For example, this month, the central banks of Thailand and Myanmmar endorsed an Ethereum based remittance ecosystem that was created by Everex, a blockchain services company. Veerathai Santiprabhob, the governor of Thailand’s Central Bank, pointed out that “this project is an important step forward for the more than 3 million workers in Thailand who might have so far used not secured channels.”
By: Andres Chavez