BDO domestic remittance network swells to nearly 3,000

MANILA, Philippines - The domestic remittance distribution network of Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) has reached 2,935 “outlets” nationwide, making it convenient, and at times enjoyable, for beneficiaries of overseas Filipinos to receive money 24/7.

Also called BDO Remit Cash Pick-up network, the network is composed of 733 BDO branches, 144 SM outlets, 535 branches of 20 rural banks, 1,344 outlets of MLhuillier pawnshops, and 179 Prime Asia pawnshop.

“We hope to also finally tap the 1,300 outlets of Cebuana Lhuillier,” Genie T. Gloria, BDO first vice president and head of Remittance Operations, said.

In fact, it becomes an enjoyable ritual for some when remitting time comes as the 144 SM outlets allows for shopping, bills payments, movies, or just family bonding time.

After all, the SM outlets house, or are allied to, remittan-ces centers including BDO branches, SM department stores, SM Business Services centers, Global Pinoy Centers, Makro outlets, and Save More markets.

But more than that, the network reaches out to the farthest areas in the country through the rural banks and the pawnshops. Rural banks connected with the distribution network are positioned in areas not only where there are a few BDO branches, but also in areas where there is a huge population of overseas Filipino beneficiaries.

Then again, the two major pawnshops easily double the reach of the rural banks.

“All these outlets are considered the most convenient, safe and liquid centers,” Gloria said, adding that 25 percent of their remittance-related money transfers were recorded from SM malls. Likewise, over 65 percent of the remittances are credit-to-account transactions.

But relationship between the bank, the overseas Filipino, and the beneficiaries of the so-called heroes of the 21st century goes beyond just transferring money from the host country of the migratory Filipino.

BDO encourages the overseas Filipino and his beneficiaries to start saving through a deposit bank account, and moving on to making investments, acquiring an insurance policy, to making loans for acquiring a home or an automobile, and graduating to loans for opening businesses.

Thus it is not surprising that BDO has been for the two consecutive years the leading domestic commercial bank in the remittance business.

Since 2008, it has been reported to account roughly 26 percent of market share of the formal sector, or remittances that are coursed through the Philippine banking system.

Its remittance business is strongest in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, North America and Canada, and the Asia Pacific region.

In the Asia Pacific region, BDO receives a lot of money transfers from Australia, Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.

For 2011, BDO is forecasting a double-digit growth rate or faster than that projected for the industry at about six to seven percent.

Overseas, BDO maintains a network of over a thousand bank correspondent arrangements globally, and hundreds of non-bank financial institutions relations including international money transfer companies.