World Remit are teaming up with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to make it possible for the Philippine diaspora to send money home to families and loved ones instantly via their mobile phones or computers rather than using a traditional bricks and mortar store, the company announced last week.

The Philippines is World Remit’s largest receiving market for money transfers, with 4.5 million transfers having been completed since the company began offering the service to the Philippines back in 2011. Today, World Remit processes around 160,000 transactions every month destined for the region, either through its website service or mobile app.

Remittance is a key pillar of the Philippine economy – a World Bank report from 2015 reveals that $30 billion in overseas remittance was received into the country’s economy in 2015 – which represents around 10% of the Philippines annual gross domestic product.

World Remit CEO and founder Ismail Ahmed commented in an emailed statement: ““Our partnership with BPI in the Philippines demonstrates our commitment to furthering the service we offer to members of the Filipino diaspora.”

Ahmed added that the service will be “further supporting the transition from costly offline remittances sent from bricks and mortar agents to safer, faster and lower cost online transfer methods.”

The Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands Head of Inward Remittance Melinda Dulay commented that the partnership would allow BPI to expand its international presence whilst making it able to “better serve Filipinos around the world.”

World Remit customers are sending nearly 700,000 transfers per month to more than 140 destinations, according to the company.

Nevada, with a one third Hispanic population, becomes 48th US state to offer World Remit service

World Remit also announced last week that it has launched in the state of Nevada, in the US, which becomes the 48^th state to offer the company’s services.

One in 5 of Nevada’s 3m residents are migrants, and one third of the state’s population are Hispanic, which ties into World Remit’s strategy of trying to reach out to America’s Hispanic community.

The company recently appointed a new Head of Latin America, the ex-American Express employee Erick Schneider, and Univision veteran Adriana Vila Soto as Head of Marketing which has helped to drive the company’s growth in key markets such as Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic. El Salvador and Colombia.

Latin America received over $70bn in remittances in 2016, reported the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies. The United States is the world’s largest sender of remittances – sending around $56.3bn every year, according to the World Bank.

Mr Ahmed commented about the news:

“Millions of people from abroad work hard in the U.S. and contribute to the economy, sending remittances to support their relatives overseas. Likewise, families all over the world rely on these payments from people working in the U.S.”

“Whether the migrant is first generation or fourth, we want to be there for them as they look to help and support their friends and family with a safer, faster and lower cost transfer method”.

Erick Schneider commented: “Nevada is a richly diverse state and reflective of the inclusivity that WorldRemit strives for. As remittances from the U.S. to Latin American countries continue to rise, we are proud to equip the large Hispanic community and migrants from around the world in Nevada with the safest and most efficient way to send vital funds to their loved ones”.

The Money Cloud View

It’s great to see disruptive, reasonably priced services like World Remit breaking into new markets and targeting countries and communities that could save hundreds of millions, at least, by switching to new providers and turning away from expensive bank and traditional wire transfer services for sending money overseas.

To compare the prices of sending money overseas, and make sure you are getting the best deal possible, visit the Money Cloud to use our unique international money transfer comparison service.