Leading Filipino non-bank remittance firm iRemit Corp. is allotting P100 million to P150 million to further expand its geographic reach and tap the growing global OFW (overseas Filipino workers) market.
Harris Jacildo, president and chief operating officer of iRemit, said the company is looking to expand in Italy, Greece, Germany, Macau and Ireland next year to boost revenues.
Jacildo noted that there are around 80,000 Filipinos working or living in Germany and some 60,0000 Filipino seamen in Greece. In Ireland, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 OFWs, mostly nurses.
He said the company remains optimistic on the prospects for growth in 2009 in spite of these trying economic times. “In every crisis, there are opportunities. Our strategy is to be able to manage costs, build brands, innovate products, and create categories,” Jacildo said.
Jacildo said the company has applied for a license to set up business in Macau.
He expects iRemit to handle more than $1 million in remittances this year.
In the ten months ending October this year, iRemit reported a 47-percent growth in remittance volume to $902 million, outpacing the growth of the remittance industry during the period under review.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently reported that the cumulative remittances rose 15.5 percent to $13.7 billion for the first 10 months of the year.
In October alone, remittances went up 3.3 percent compared with the same period last year.
iRemit, the fastest-growing Filipino non-owned bank remittance company, recently opened a new branch in Perth Australia. It is present in 25 countries worldwide with over 600 international partners and tie-ups and 4,000 payout and distribution centers in the Philippines.