Western Union’s Phl operations remain strong

MANILA, Philippines -  Higher remittances can only mean good business for global money transfer company Western Union.

Western Union said it remains happy with its operations in the Philippines, one of its largest in Asia, as remittances from overseas Filipinos continue to pile up year after year.

Patricia Riingen, Western Union Senior Vice President for South and East Asia and Oceania, told The STAR that expansion locally continues to be very attractive to the company because of the flourishing money transfer business in the Philippines.

“The company continues to further strengthen its growing global network by partnering with reliable agents who will help the company provide fast and reliable remittance services to Filipinos abroad and at home,” Riingen said.

Western Union, to date, already has 8,600 agent locations across the Philippines, with branches reaching as far as Basco, Batanes in the north and Bonggao, Tawi-Tawi in the south.

But Riingen said the count will not stop there, especially with the Philippines now moving past Mexico as the third largest remittance receiving country globally, next to India and China. The Philippines’ total remittance stood at $25.3 billion in 2013.

“Being accessible is crucial in the success of our service in the Philippines,” Riingen said, noting that some 73 percent of the Philippine population still do not use banks for financial transactions.

“Even with the expansive growing presence of the Western Union network in the urban and developing rural areas, expansion plans focus on covering areas where we see strong migration patterns, for domestic and international money transfers,” she said.

As of end-June, remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached a six-month high of $2.27 billion on the back of sustained overseas demand for skilled Filipino workers according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Riingen said growth of remittances in the Philippines is expected to increase in the coming years because of the high demand for skilled Filipinos abroad and the rise in the number of Filipino immigrants.

Riingen said that as of 2012, the number of overseas Filipino workers are estimated to be at 2.2 million, around 10 percent of the country’s total population.

“We are positive that remittances to the Philippines will sustain this steady growth rate in 2015 and 2016, with the expectation that it will contribute around 6 percent to 8 percent of the total GDP as projected by the World Bank last June,” Riingen said.

Since starting operations in the Philippines in 1990, Western Union to date has presence in 143 cities and 78 provinces, providing services for international and domestic money transfer. It is present in multiple classes of trade including banks, pawnshops, money changers, supermarkets, and convenience stores.

Last year, Western Union transferred money to the Philippines from 194 countries, up from 27 countries 17 years ago.

Riingen said the funds transferred are mostly used for regular support, education, gifting, emergencies, as well as many other compelling reasons.

“The Western Union company provides a vital financial link for millions of Filipino consumers at home and in all corners of the world. Western Union has increasingly invested in serving all consumer segments by providing a growing diversity of distribution channels, payout options and connection to other companies’ financial services,” Riingen said.

Western Union branded services were first made available in the Philippines in 1990 in its first branch on Paseo de Roxas in Makati. It was also the company’s first location in the entire Asia Pacific.

In 2013, the Western Union company completed 242 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 459 million business payments.