The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the very first bank in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, was recently recognized best remittance service provider in the Philippines at the 16th Annual Best Financial Institution Awards by Alpha Southeast Asia.
BPI has been conferred the award for its remarkable work in bolstering the remittance landscape and in setting the pace for open banking in the country with the goal of providing more ways for Filipinos to send and receive money, whenever and wherever they are.
This is the first time that BPI has won an award in this particular category.
“BPI is grateful for being recognized as the best remittance service provider in the country. Remittances are the bedrock of our economy as it fuels both corporate funds management and private consumption. As an industry leader, we are committed to bringing further development to the remittance landscape to address the evolving needs of Filipinos in terms of money sending and receiving money,” said Reginaldo Anthony Cariaso, head of BPI corporate banking – strategy, products, and support, in a press statement.
A pace-setter for open banking in PH
The bank said that the main growth driver for its remittance business had to do with the various services that it had rolled out in the past year. With the Application Programming Interface (API) components that it had set in motion, BPI is bounding toward its mission to become a pace-setter for open banking in the country.
Through this initiative, BPI was able to form strategic partnerships with different remittance companies, thus strengthening its global and local presence and bringing its remittance services closer to Filipinos wherever they are.
BPI also became the first local bank to launch the SWIFT global payment innovation. This advanced payment method enabled faster, more transparent, and traceable cross-border payments. It reported a 57% increase in transaction volume via SWIFT in 2021, which helped boost cross-border payments.
In addition, BPI also launched “Outward Remittance” via digital channels that enabled BPI clients to send money from their Peso or US Dollar accounts to a foreign bank account via BPI Online, BPI Mobile app, and Bizlink.
Another remarkable BPI innovation is the Remit to Account service, which allows sending of funds to a BPI account via select partner remittance centers and pawnshops. Aside from providing additional ways for its clients to send money, the project also provided BPI’s partners with an added revenue stream. Last year, Remit to Account recorded 207% growth in volume from the previous year.
The bank also offers worldwide remittance to any local bank. This service enabled its corporate partners, including remittance tie-ups based worldwide and retail clients such as OFWs and their families, to remit from abroad to any local bank account as well as to top up their e-wallets.
Finally, BPI continues to complement its remittance business with financial literacy seminars worldwide with the aim of promoting remittance solutions that can help address the special needs of Filipinos who are living and working abroad.
BPI is currently the fourth-largest bank in terms of assets and the second-largest bank in terms of market capitalization in the country. It is also considered one of the most profitable banks in the Philippines.