i-Remit opens remittance corridor for Greece-based OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - I-Remit Corp., the largest non-bank Filipino-owned remittance company, has signed an agreement with Intel Express Georgia to provide remittance services to Filipinos living and working in Greece .

Under the agreement entered into by iRemit subisidiary I-Remit Europe Remittance Consulting AG, Intel Express will receive remittances from various Filipino immigrants and workers in Greece while iRemit will distribute the remittance proceeds to their beneficiaries in the Philippines.

“The remittance fulfilment services that we will provide in collaboration with Intel Express will benefit the Filipinos living and working in Greece. Now, Filipinos in various parts of this country will benefit from fast remittance services with low service rates,” said Harris Jacildo, president and chief operating officer of iRemit.”

According to statistics from the Philippine Embassy, there are about 40,000

Filipinos in Greece – 70 percent are sea-based and 30 percent are land-based. Among the land-based Filipinos, a substantial 78.1 percent are female.

Filipinos are among the most highly educated foreign workers in Greece, the iRemit official noted.

“This partnership with Intel Express is very strategic as it boosts iRemit’s efforts to offer remittance services, not only for the Philippine corridor but for other countries as well. The unparalleled remittance services that we provide for Filipinos abroad will be extended to other nationalities,” added iRemit chairman and chief executive officer Bansan Choa.

Jacildo said the alliance will service not only the needs of Filipinos in Greece but also aims to embark on a new remittance corridor wherein iRemit will also accept remittances going to Georgia. Situated in Southwestern Asia between Turkey and Russia, the country, which borders the Black Sea, has an estimated population of five million while 3.5 million more of its citizens reside and work mostly in other European countries.

iRemit and Intel Express agreed to open other mutually-interesting corridors between European countries (UK, Italy, Austria) and the former Soviet Union countries such as Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine.

“With a shared roadmap and with both companies’ long-term commitments, our respective customers can expect fast and cost-effective remittance services,” said Choa.

iRemit is present in 27 countries spanning the territories of Europe, North America, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.       – Zinnia Dela Peña