iRemit posts 45% hike in remittance volume

Leading Filipino non-bank remittance firm iRemit Inc. said its remittance volume rose 45 percent in the 11 months ending November 2008 to $987 million from the same period a year earlier despite the global economic turmoil.

Total remittances into the Philippines went up 15 percent during the period under review to $15 billion.

“We delivered very strong results in the first eleven months of 2008 and continued to perform in line with our expectations. This growth was driven primarily by our team’s customer-centric strategies that helped us beat targets in a challenging year. We thank all of them for their efforts,” said iRemit president and chief operating officer Harris Jacildo.

iRemit chairman and CEO Bansan Choa, for his part, said while the company is “consistent in soaring above the industry growth, we expect a slow down in the last quarter of 2008 because of the current global economic situation, and we have planned for that. We are still very pleased with these results because there was very strong growth in most of our mature markets as well as in our newest ones.”

iRemit continues to tap new markets and develop new product and services as part of its strategy. Recently, it joined forces with CDO-Foodsphere Inc. and Surewell Equities Inc. in its “Pangkabuhayan” and “Kabahayan” program. The Pangkabuhayan program aims to help Filipinos with the entrepreneurial spirit and skills to start their own businesses with a minimal capital investment.      – Zinnia dela Peña