Western Union bullish on remittances, says PH market ‘very promising’

Global financial services firm Western Union on Wednesday expressed bullishness on the growth of Philippine remittances, as it described the country as “very promising” with the company looking at onboarding new users and retaining existing customers through its new mobile application.

According to Western Union country director for the Philippines Ricardo “Don” Alair II, the company is looking at riding the growth of overall remittances in the country, as cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels climbed 3.0% to $34.493 billion in 2024 based on central bank data.

“We’re tracking the growth of the industry. Last year the remittance industry grew by 3%. Just extrapolate from that. The industry as a whole is still growing 3% to 4%. This year they’re projecting about $40 billion. I think we’re going to exceed $40 billion,” he said in an interview in Makati City.

“I think we’re still in a growth mode because we’re sending a lot of Filipinos abroad and you know, I don’t think that’s going away soon,” he added.

Driving the bullishness is the company’s launch of its new mobile application, which was formally launched on Wednesday after it was soft-launched two weeks ago, with Western Union reporting strong traction.

“I think we’re seeing digital product usage, high growth coming from digital channels,” Western Union vice president for the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands Gregory Laurent said separately.

Laurent said the mobile application is expected to drive growth even further moving forward, both in terms of users and in terms of the overall value of transactions made through the company, as it allows users to receive and send funds abroad.

“For many in the country, remittances represent a life with more opportunity and hope. At the same time, an increasing number of Filipinos opt to send funds abroad,” he said.

Western Union said the Philippines is its fourth-largest market, and it expects to grow its presence in the country moving forward.

"Think about it, we really didn’t have a proper digital presence in the Philippines which now we have with the new launch," Laurent said.

"So we also know that quite a few Filipinos now are using digital means to use services and financial services so yes it’s gonna be a growth engine for us, we know it, and it’s what we’re seeing in many countries around the world, that digital is a growth driver," he added.

Latest data available from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that cash remittances hit a seven-month high of $3.179 billion in July, up 3.0% from $3.085 billion the same month last year. — BM, GMA Integrated News