BDO, Western Union partner for money transfer

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. has partnered with global money transfer firm Western Union to make it more convenient for Filipinos to receive money from almost anywhere in the world.

Genie Gloria, senior vice president and head of BDO Remittance, said the extended collaboration with Western Union is proof of the bank’s 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 collaboration delivers a kind of service that is reliable given the two institutions’ credibility and trust they’ve both earned through the years,” Gloria said.

Under the expanded remittance collaboration, more than 1,100 BDO branches nationwide would offer cash pick-up of Western Union money transfers.

With the partnership, customers who do not have a BDO account yet may conveniently claim Western Union remittances at BDO and its rural bank subsidiary – BDO Network Bank that has over 130 branches in the countryside.

BDO and Western Union initially launched a credit-to-account service in 2015, allowing remitters to send money straight to BDO accounts from over 70 countries via www.westernunion.com and through Western Union agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

BDO’s presence inside SM Supermalls allows customers to claim Western Union remittances more conveniently as the branches are open up to 7 p.m. including weekends and selected holidays.

This serves as a one-stop-shop for customers as they may claim remittances and purchase their basic needs, in just one go.

Western Union head of Network for Middle East and Asia-Pacific Sohini Rajola said the global money transfer firm connects 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,” Rajola said.

Western Union has a network of 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.