- Leading cross-border payments brand Western Union has announced a new collaboration with a leading Filipino bank.
- Western Union’s transfer services will now be available to customers of CARD Bank, which is microfinance-focused and helps customers who live in rural areas in the Philippines.
- The new service will apply to both outward and inward transactions, and will soon be rolled out to more physical locations.
Major international money transfer firm Western Union has announced a new partnership with a bank in the Philippines.
The firm will work alongside CARD Bank, which is a microfinance specialist rural bank based in the Philippines.
The partnership means that customers of CARD Bank will now be able to perform cross-border payments transactions using Western Union’s network.
At the moment, this can happen at over 200 physical locations of the CARD Bank network across the country.
Soon, it will be possible at over 1,500 CARD MRI locations.
It also applies to both sending-focused and receiving-focused transactions, the firm said.
According to a press release from Western Union, the move is designed to increase financial inclusion.
In a statement, Jeffrey Navarro, who serves as head of network for the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei & Indochina at Western Union, said that the company was in a strong position to help people navigate the complications of the modern financial system.
“Western Union is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of today’s complex and interconnected world,” he said.
“We provide the freedom and dignity to move money when, where and how our customers choose. With CARD Bank, we have a clear, shared vision of what we hope to accomplish,” he added.
He went on to explain more about Western Union’s thinking when it came to boosting financial inclusion for the underbanked.
“Financial services are not just a luxury for the few, but a necessity for all – an economic lifeline that we are determined to deliver,” he said.
Marivic Austria, who serves as the president and chief executive officer at CARD Bank, described the move as a method of empowerment for those in the Philippines who are at a disadvantage.
The press release from Western Union announcing this change is clearly heavily influenced not just by commercial imperatives but also by a desire to make a positive difference.
Representatives of both CARD Bank and Western Union describe their aims in terms of social impact, and it is certainly true that the new collaboration could make a difference.
Only time will tell whether or not this partnership heralds any sort of significant change to the lives of ordinary Filipino people in the country’s extensive rural areas.
However, it does go to show that companies like these are now conceptualising their actions in terms of social change – and that can only be a good thing.
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