35 more banks keen on joining remittance facility for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said 35 more banks are interested in joining the remittance facility for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) under the central bank’s Philippine Payments and Settlements System (PhilPaSS).

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the additional banks would help beef up the existing number of 12 banks using the PhilPaSS Remit system that facilitates the settlement of remittances from overseas Filipino in a safer, faster and cheaper way.

“So far, 12 banks are using PhilPaSS Remit and 35 more banks want to join the system,” Tetangco revealed.

The BSP has been encouraging banks and financial institutions to course OFW remittances through the central bank’s electronic payment and settlement system so that beneficiaries of Filipinos working abroad could enjoy lower fees.

“We are particularly proud that we have been able to lower remittance charges of overseas Filipinos by fostering healthy competition among service providers,” the BSP chief added.

The BSP said the settlement of OFW remittances through the PhilPaSS Remit System would result in savings of between P100 and P500 per transaction as current system charges between P150 and P550 per transaction.

OFW families are expected to save at least P92 million to as high as P922 million due to the faster and cheaper delivery of remittances to the beneficiaries at a lower rate of P50 per transaction instead of the current range of between P100 and P550 per transaction.

The PhilPaSS Remit system is one of the initiatives undertaken by the BSP in coordination with the Association of Bank Remittance Officers Inc. (ABROI) through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in December 2009 but was implemented in the second quarter of last year.

Tetangco said the system boosted the total value of financial transactions that passed through PhilPaSS by 43.6 percent to P71.18 trillion in the first quarter of the year from P49.56 trillion in the same quarter last year.

PhilPaSS is an online and real-time gross settlement payment system administered by the central bank to facilitate payment transactions between banks. The large value handled by the system represents money in circulation that is being repeatedly processed by banks.

“The BSP’s payments and settlements system remained consistently safe, efficient, and reliable, thereby boosting confidence further in our financial system. Over the years, our real time gross settlement system or PhilPaSS has been moving funds faster and better,” he said.

He added that the volume of PhilPaSS transactions surged 34.8 percent to 271,550 in the first quarter of the year from 201,383 in the same period last year due mainly from OFW remittances transactions processed and settled through the PhilPaSS Remit system.

Compared to none in the first quarter of 2010, the central bank data showed that a total of 71,212 OFW remittance transactions involving P2.89 billion were coursed through the PhilPaSS Remit system in the first quarter of this year.