Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has entered into a strategic collaboration partnership with Palawan Pawnshop recently in support of the government’s financial inclusion objectives.
The move is also in keeping with the bank’s vision of further growing its remittance operations as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) continue sending more money to their loved ones back home.
According to John-C Syquia, head of institutional banking at BPI, the 171-year-old bank shares the crucial objective of financial inclusion with Palawan Pawnshop.
By enabling the transfer of funds from the network of Palawan via the network of BPI, this new agreement will improve the lives of Filipinos living abroad. According to Syquia, this is possible even after business hours, on weekends, and during vacations.
The collaboration also shows BPI’s dedication to offering more practical solutions to meet the financial demands of the businesses and communities it serves.
Partnership to allow Filipinos to remit more quickly and conveniently
With the addition of Palawan Pawnshop as a new Remit-to-Account (RTA) partner of BPI, Filipinos can now quickly and conveniently send money to over 3,000 branches of Palawan Pawnshop throughout the country, as well as directly to a BPI account.
In a press statement, Lisa Lou Castro-Sabado, Vice President for New Products and Services at Palawan Express Pera Padala, expressed her company’s happiness to work with BPI on this program.
“(With the BPI partnership), we will be able to realize our shared vision of making financial transactions more accessible, efficient, and secure for every Filipino, regardless of their location or circumstances, by combining Palawan Pawnshop’s broad reach and user-friendly platforms with BPI’s customer-centric approach,” Castro-Sabado said.
“We sincerely believe that this alliance would enable more Filipinos to attain their financial objectives and fortify their bonds with their loved ones,” she added.
The goods and services offered by BPI Remittance are made to provide Filipinos more control over their hard-earned money and aid them in achieving their financial objectives. BPI keeps adding more methods to enable more Filipinos to send money anytime, anywhere.
BSP lowers target for personal and cash remittances in PH
In a related development, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has recently lowered the target for both personal and cash remittances to three percent (from four percent) due to the possibility of a recession in the US, the largest economy in the world.
The BSP believes that amid slower international trade, foreign direct investments, employment, and other business/economic activities in the US, OFW remittances could also be adversely affected.
Remittances climbed by only 3.6% last year, falling short of the BSP’s four percent growth goal.
Only three percent of remittances increased in the first quarter of the year.
According to the latest data from the central bank, personal remittances increased by 3% to $8.9 billion from $8.65 billion in the same quarter the previous year, while cash remittances flowing through banks similarly increased by 3% to $8 billion from $7.77 billion.