Equitable, Travelex forge alliance

Equitable PCI Bank has teamed up with the diversified financial services group Travelex to provide money transfer services in France as the initial venture in a strategic alliance that could see the two groups going after the huge OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittance market in Europe together.

An estimated 50,000 Filipinos working or living in France can send money direct to the Philippines through the service tie-up made by Equitable’s popular Express Padala network with Banque Travelex, the French unit of UK-based Travelex Money Transfer.

In Paris, Banque Travelex has a branch at the famed Champs Elysee that Filipino workers can easily access. A branch dedicated to OFWs will be opened later this year.

"We are very proud to enter into this strategic alliance, as Equitable PCI Bank remains to be the only Philippine Bank with a continued presence in France serving our OFWs through this bank arrangement with Travelex," bank chairman Antonio L. Go claimed in a press statement.

The new service simplifies the remittance process, facilitating direct transfers from France to the Philippines. It provides customers a wider array of money transfer modes to choose from, including home delivery and credits to bank accounts.

Equitable serves remitters and beneficiaries alike from all strata of society through its 26 Express Padala subsidiaries, 98 remittance correspondents and more than 150 agents worldwide.

Travelex Group, a worldwide money business player and the world’s largest non-bank foreign exchange service provider, has offices in 31 countries and corporate relationships in 97 countries globely, serving over 29 million customers each year. Travelex Money Transfer is the group’s remittance arm.