The expanded collaboration will enable Western Union money transfers through Cebuana Lhuillier Mobile App, with an embedded micro-savings account
A Cebuana Lhuillier branch in Tanay, Rizal. (Credit: Judgefloro/Wikipedia.)
Western Union has teamed up with Cebuana Lhuillier, a provider of micro-financial services based in the Philippines, to launch digital money transfer services in the Philippines.
The partnership enables customers to receive and send money transfers through the Cebuana Lhuillier Mobile App ‘eCebuana’, with an embedded micro-savings account.
Customers in the Philippines can direct a Western Union international money transfer directly into the eCebuana app anytime round the clock, as an alternative to retail pick-up.
The current partnership builds on the launch of Western Union services at more than 2,500 Cebuana Lhuillier locations in the Philippines.
Western Union intends to expand the digital money transfer services by early next year.
Western Union Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indochina network head Jeffrey Navarro said: “Facilitating convenient access for customers is of utmost importance for Western Union.
“Through this partnership, we are bringing new and innovative ways to receive and send money across the Philippines.
“We are excited to expand our suite of services with Cebuana Lhuillier, offering exceptional coverage and proximity, serving both online and offline while giving customers peace of mind with reliable and regulated access to money transfer services.”
eCebuana users can receive their remittances by simply selecting receive money service, and choosing Western Union, followed by MTCN input.
Western Union remittance will be automatically credited to their micro-savings account after submitting the required information and giving the OTP provided through SMS.
Micro savings account enables customers to go cashless using its 24K Debit card at retail stores or withdraw funds from 21,000 ATMs nationwide.
Also, the cards can be used for in-app services including bills payment, load purchases, and direct remittances to other similar accounts, branches, or to other bank accounts.
In a separate development, Western Union has partnered with Japan-based KYODAI Remittance to offer services from its Western Union Business Solutions.
KYODAI will use the business solutions to enable the business to business (B2B) cross-border payments for corporate customers.
As part of the first phase of the implementation, KYODAI will start using WU GlobalPay for Financial Institutions to provide direct, reliable payment routes at low fees for business customers.