Equitable remittances up

The Equitable PCI Bank has claimed that its remittance business continues to experience strong growth posting 21-percent volume growth in the first four months of the year, as it rapidly expands in international markets.

In a statement, Equitable PCI Bank registered double-digit growth in remittances over the last two years aiding government efforts aimed at boosting the proportion of remittances sent through formal bank channels.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said April remittances dropped to $699 million from $740.5 million the previous year, bringing the four-month total to $2.6 billion and slowing down growth from 4.4 percent in the first quarter to 1.6 percent in January-April. The slowdown is attributed to a 7.6-percent fall in inflows from Saudi Arabia, which implemented tighter monitoring of fund transfers to guard against money laundering.

In contrast, Equitable claims its business volume in Saudi Arabia grew by 20 percent in the first four months, as more overseas-based Filipinos chose to use Express Padala, a faster and safer mode of sending money than non-bank channels.