With this, I-Remit’s customers can provide for grocery shopping of their families in the Philippines with digital gift certificates
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(L-R) BeamAndGo Marketing Director Albert Christian Go, with I-Remit customers Lolith Catan, Helen Sintasas, and BeamAndGo CEO Jonathan E Chua
BeamAndGo, an alternative remittance startup that sends digital gift certificates instead of cash, has forged a partnership with I-Remit, a global remittance firm, to offer over-the-counter payment services to overseas foreign workers (OFWs) to provide for grocery shopping of their families in the Philippines.
Jonathan E Chua, CEO, BeamAndGo said, “We understand that many of I-Remit’s customers have apportioned a specific budget from their remittances to their family’s monthly grocery spending. Instead of sending cash, OFWs can now purchase our convenient digital gift certificates which can be redeemed by their loved ones at our participating supermarkets.”
According to a study done by the central bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), 82 per cent of overseas remittances are allocated for basic needs such as food, supplies, medicine, healthcare and utilities, supporting the behaviour of most I-Remit customers.
The partnership with I-Remit, which owns 12 per cent of OFW remittance market, will expand BeamAndGo’s distribution network to over 1,400 payment centers. At present, BeamAndGo actively promotes its digital gift certificates in nine markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, UK, UAE, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Bansan Choa, Chairman and CEO, I-Remit explained, “We are committed to serving Filipinos everywhere in the world through our modern and efficient remittance facilities. We are excited to partner with BeamAndGo to offer their innovative digital gift certificate platform to our customers who want to assure their remittances will be channelled specifically to grocery spending.”
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How it works
“Both firms strive to be an instrument of positive change for OFWs and their families,” Chua added. “Together, we can provide a more comprehensive remittance service that addresses the issue of fragmentation and leakage. Our services complement each other and I’m looking forward to a long and positive relationship,” he said.
I-Remit customers can now purchase BeamAndGo digital gift certificates in three simple steps: First, customers indicate the amount they wish to send, select the supermarket and complete the form with the recipient’s information. Recipients in the Philippines will receive a text message bearing a redemption code within a few minutes. With this code, recipients can proceed to their selected supermarket and will only have to present the code during checkout to redeem.
With partnerships with payment centers such as I-Remit, the Filipino remittance startup industry expects its customer base to grow from 70,000 to 300,000 and revenues to hit US$1.5 million by December 31, 2016.
To celebrate the partnership with BeamAndGo, I-Remit customers will receive a discount of US$1 for every US$22 worth of digital gift certificates bought from August 1 to October 31, 2015.
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