Union Bank fintech empowers cross-border money transfers

November 18, 2022 | 12:00

MANILA, Philippines – The financial technology venture studio and fund of Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines continues to enable overseas Filipinos to make digital cross-border money transfers through its widest network of access points at affordable rates.

UBX has partnered with Monetary Authority of Singapore-backed ThitsaWorks to enable more than half a million Filipinos in Singapore to make digital money transfers across borders.

UBX President and CEO John Januszczak said the tie-up is a major step forward in enabling fast, convenient and ubiquitous cross-border remittances for the benefit of Filipino migrant workers in Singapore.

“I am confident that this partnership will also accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines by providing customers in all regions of the archipelago – no matter how rural or remote – access to secure and connected payments through any financial service provider, including rural banks, cooperatives, and other community-based financial institutions,” Januszczak said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore recently awarded ThitsaWorks’ Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Proof of Concept (POC) grant for the Inclusive Cross-Border Remittance Project.

The pilot program is set for the first quarter of next year. There are approximately 600,000 overseas Filipinos in Singapore who pay around Singapore $2.8 billion annually.

“We see this as a significant impact on the opportunity for all Filipinos to participate in the digital economy,” Januszczak said.

“We are happy to be part of the inclusive Cross-Border Remittance Project, which will make remittances cheaper and faster for the Singapore-to-Philippines corridor. I believe this project will positively impact the remittance challenges faced by many foreign migrant workers in Singapore, who we witness daily Our ThitsaWorks team is also very excited to work closely with prominent participants in the financial industry and learn from each other,” said ThitsaWorks CEO and co-founder Nyi Nyein Aye.

Under the partnership, UBX will provide the necessary digital infrastructure for international transfers between Singapore and the Philippines via its banking-as-a-service venture i2i.

While there are many payment options for overseas migrant workers in Singapore, the options to reach rural areas where many working families live are complicated, expensive and slow.

In addition, friends and family who only have accounts with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and rural banks cannot receive direct payments.

With its strategic partnership with ThitsaWorks, i2i aims to connect small financial institutions to real-time payment networks to enable fast, convenient and ubiquitous cross-border transfers.