MANILA, AUGUST 13, 2019— Western Union, a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, and BDO Unibank, have extended their relationship to expand reach in the Philippines with more than 1,100 BDO Unibank branches now ready to pay-out Western Union® international money transfers from across the world.
The choice to offer money transfer services at retail builds upon existing services which enables customers to receive money directly into their BDO Unibank accounts. With this launch, customers that don’t have a BDO Unibank account may walk into any of the over 1,100 BDO Unibank branches or its rural bank subsidiary – One Network, Inc. (ONB), which has over 130 branches in Mindanao and the Visayas, and now, rapidly expanding across Luzon, to receive money from their loved ones.
Global money senders into the Philippines may use Western Union’s digital services in more than 70 countries and territories, or the walk-in Agent network in more than 200 countries and territories to send money for payout directly into BDO Unibank accounts or for pick-up at BDO Unibank branches.
BDO Unibank’s presence inside SM Supermalls provides greater access and convenience to customers as the branches are open until 7 pm including weekends and selected holidays.
“At Western Union, we connect families near and far away and help them move money across borders and currencies. We are excited to extend our service offering with BDO Unibank by building on our strengths to expand our network even further, providing a high-level customer experience,” said Sohini Rajola, Head of Network, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, Western Union.
“Our extended collaboration with Western Union is proof of our continuous commitment to make remittances from almost any part of the globe convenient to receive. Western Union has helped us in bridging not only Filipino workers from different parts of the world but also other global senders and their remittance beneficiaries in the Philippines, who can rely on us through our accessible and convenient cash pick-up locations. The Western Union-BDO Unibank collaboration delivers a kind of service that is reliable given the two institutions’ credibility and trust they have both earned through the years,” said Genie Gloria, Senior Vice President and Head – BDO Remittance.
BDO Remittance Business Development and Network Support SVP and Head, Ferdinand C. Bacungan, said: “We believe this collaboration with Western Union will provide a convenient channel for international money transfers. We are aligned with our shared vision of moving money for a better world and making it easier than ever for customers to move money in a way that fits their lives”.
The Philippines ranked as the worlds’ fourth largest remittance receiver country in 2018, according to the World Bank. Western Union serves customers from a large network of Agent locations facilitating convenience for customers in the Philippines. Just recently, BDO Unibank received an award from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) as the “Commercial Bank that Generated the Largest Overseas Filipino Remittances” for the year 2018, a title the bank consistently holds for several years since 2008.
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About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of September 30, 2018, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or Orlandi Valuta branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2017, is available in more than 50 countries and territories to move money around the world. In 2017, we moved over $300 billion in principal in nearly 130 currencies and processed 32 transactions every second across all our services. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About BDO
BDO Unibank, Inc. is a full-service universal bank, which provides a wide range of corporate and retail banking services. These services include traditional loan and deposit products, as well as treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, rural banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, retail cash cards and credit card services.
BDO Unibank has the country’s largest distribution network, with over 1,100 consolidated operating branches and more than 4,000 ATMs nationwide. It also has 21 overseas remittance and representative offices (including full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore) in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. BDO Unibank ranked as the largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits and trust funds under management based on published statements of condition as of December 31, 2018. For more information, please visit www.bdo.com.ph.
