Filipinos in Canada now have a chance to rejoice as sending money back home just became easier for them. In a recent development, the leading Philippines based bitcoin company Satoshi Citadel Industries has entered into a partnership with ZipZap to facilitate money transfer between Filipino expats in Canada and those in Philippines.
As per the partnership between Rebit.ph, a bitcoin remittance platform by Satoshi Citadel Industries and the California based global money transfer platform, ZipZap will allow people in Canada to use ZipZap to transfer funds to Philippines. This collaboration offers Satoshi Citadel Industries, the required entry point into Canada’s remittance market. By introducing bitcoin powered remittance platforms, the companies can drastically reduce the costs associated with foreign remittances.
Philippines has one of the largest foreign remittances in the world, due to a significantly large Filipino population working overseas. They send money back home on a regular basis, which makes up for a large portion of remittances. Most people still use conventional money transfer channels like Western Union, MoneyGram or Lhuiller. These conventional money transfer channels have huge transaction costs associated with it, which is usually anywhere between 5 percent and 15 percent of the entire transaction amount.
However, it is completely opposite with bitcoin. Using bitcoin one can transfer funds across the globe within hours and the transaction fees associated with bitcoin transactions is usually negligible in comparison with conventional money transfer routes. This will prove to be great saver for the Filipino economy, as people otherwise end up spending close to $2 billion just on transaction and conversion fees for the funds.
When people use ZipZap to send money, they will be entering the amount they wish to transfer in Canadian dollars, once they enter the recipient details and execute the transaction, the money will be transferred as bitcoin. The bitcoin transaction happens over Rebit.ph’s channel. Once the bitcoin is received, it is later converted to Philippine peso and the receiver can choose to withdraw it in accordance with their withdrawal preference.
Image: Aliwan Fiesta in Pasay City | Source: www.thephilippines.com