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AHEAD OF LABOR DAY

Pinoy workers urged to be vigilant about domestic remittance charges


A policy advocacy and research organization on Friday urged Filipino workers to be vigilant of the service charges and fees that non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) will be charging when they send money within the Philippines.

In a statement, Lilac Center for Public Interest said that starting April 27, NBFIs are required to disclose the fees that they will be charging to Filipino workers sending money domestically.

"Our workers who regularly send money to their families anywhere in the country through domestic remittance providers and other entities should know how much in service fees these providers are charging them," said Nicon Fameronag, Lilac Center president.

The order for NBFIs to disclose their fees came from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through Circular No. 952 Series of 2017.

The circular was issued last March 22 pursuant to Monetary Board Resolution No. 370 dated 2 March 2017, which provides for the Manual of Regulations for Banks and the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions.

Fameronag said everyone who remits money must know that the BSP requires that all fees for domestic remittance transactions shall be charged upfront by all NBFIs supervised by the BSP from the sender or remitter, with appropriate disclosure of the components of the fees being charged.

The former Labor undersecretary lauded the BSP for its move, saying this will benefit the country’s 42 million workers ahead of the Labor Day 2017 commemoration.

"This will avoid our workers from being short-changed by unscrupulous remittance providers of their hard earned money that they religiously send to their families in the provinces," he said. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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