Armenotech has recently signed a partnership agreement with Tempo France and Cebuana Lhuillier, a Europe-based fintech firm and a Philippine-based pawnshop, respectively, to implement a number of pioneering Stellar blockchain solutions projects for the Philippines’ growing remittances market.
Tempo and Cebuana shall serve as operational activity and financial settlement parties in the project.
IMAGE CREDIT: evilmartians.com
In a press statement, Armenotech said that its EU-based partners have previously signed deals with Cebuana Lhuillier, the flagship brand of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies.
The successful completion of the project shall enable people to send money from Europe and pick up Philippine pesos in more than 10,000 Cebuana Lhuillier shops across the country. Senders will also be able to pay at Tempo’s locations or, alternatively, pay by card using Tempo’s mobile application.
Stellar blockchain to form a significant element of the project
Under the agreement, Armenotech shall play a key role in providing integration of Cebuana’s IT infrastructure into the Stellar platform.
“The Stellar blockchain is a significant element of the project,” said Daniel Gazaryan, Chief Business Officer for Armenotech. “The technology provides the highest possible speed, reliability, and low costs. And that is exactly what the clients expect from the service.”
Gazaryan went on to say that Armenotech and Tempo also plan to introduce B2B payment services based on the Stellar blockchain.
“It is the start of a very important project. We give people yet another degree of convenience, which is very important for Philippine nationals who live and work overseas, to be able to send money to their families,” said Alla Zhedik, the CEO of Tempo. “It is a great example of how state-of-the-art technologies play an extremely important humanitarian role.”
Alla Zhedik, CEO of TEMPO France (IMAGE CREDIT: ffnews.com)
Zhedik went on to say that the Philippines is a very lucrative payment sector. Its potential exceeds $30 billion and the growth rate is up to 10 percent a year.
“Having said this, we have to point out that competition is on the rise. This makes remittance companies deploy the latest technology and marketing instruments. The introduction of the Stellar blockchain is a great advantage in this competitive environment,” she adds.
Developing a stable and extensive payout network in PH
The Stellar blockchain project is aimed at developing a stable and extensive payout network — particularly in the Philippines, and the entire Asia Pacific region in general.
“The growing market and its constantly increasing potential are the reasons why we are ready to offer local companies great opportunities in cooperation. An increase in the number of sales channels shall give operational and financial indicators great momentum,” explained Zhedik.
For his part, Gazaryan said that the partnership between Fintech company Armenotech and Tempo is a unique synergy. “It is an example of how a payment solution company and a recognized EU payment and remittances operator (which is licensed by Bank of France) can successfully work in the very competitive money transfer sector.”
He also said that the successful completion of yet another stage of the project, B2B payments, is a very promising trajectory for further development in the Philippines.
“At the moment, we aim at doing our best to show clients the great advantages that the blockchain technology features,” Gazaryan said.
Armenotech and Tempo have been actively expanding their activities both in Europe and internationally as of late, and both companies said that they expect their client portfolio to drastically grow in the course of a few months upon the project’s completion.