GCash partners with Japan's Softbank for remittance service

MANILA, Philippines - G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom that manages GCash, has partnered with Softbank Payment Service Corp. (SBPS), a subsidiary of Japan’s Softbank Corp., for an affordable, convenient and secure remittance service that will greatly benefit Filipinos living and working in Japan.

With the partnership, Filipinos living and working in Japan can remit money to the Philippines via the GCash platform.

“We are giving Filipinos in Japan a better choice with GCash — providing an alternative remittance service that’s safe, secure and clearly more affordable. They can send money any time of the day from virtually anywhere in Japan in real time,” said Paolo Baltao, president of GXI.

“The service also benefits the families of OFWs as they can take advantage of GCash Remit’s 6,000 outlets nationwide, making GCash highly accessible even to beneficiaries living in far-flung provinces,” added Baltao.

SBPS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications and media corporation giant Softbank Corp., which also owns Softbank Mobile, one of Japan’s largest telecommunications companies.

Softbank Mobile is one of the most widely used wireless carriers by Filipinos living in Japan. Japan, on the other hand, is the Philippines’ fifth largest source of OFW remittances, with total inflows reaching close to $900 million in 2010.

To avail himself/herself of the service, a sender in Japan simply has to register for membership at the SBPS-GCash website, www.gcash.jp, which can be accessed either from a PC or a smartphone.

Members then use the SBPS-GCash website to access remittance services. The sender inputs the amount of money to be sent along with the beneficiary’s name, address, and mobile number. A member must have enough money in his/her account for the transaction to push through.

A member may deposit money to his/her SBPS-GCash account via bank transfer either at the counter, ATM or Internet banking as well as more than 8,000 convenience stores in Japan.

On the other hand, the beneficiary in the Philippines can receive the cash remittance coming from Japan in real time through GCash Remit’s outlets throughout the country which include Globe Stores, PR Savings Bank, GM Bank, Villarica, Tambunting, and Prime Asia Pawnshop branches, among others.

The beneficiary may also opt to receive the remittance directly to his/her mobile phone enrolled in GCash or deposit it in his/her bank account.

The minimum remittance charge is 500 yen per transaction of up to 10,000 yen, which is among the lowest in the industry. Clients are charged 700 yen for each transaction above 10,000 yen up to 30,000 yen. A transaction fee of 1,350 yen is charged to remittance exceeding 30,000 yen.

To celebrate the launch of the new service, SBPS is running a campaign in which they will give away 500 yen coupon applicable to a remittance to every customer who can register to the service until March 31, 2012. With the coupon, a customer may remit an amount of up to 10,000 yen virtually free of charge.

For more information about the SBPS-GCASH remittance service, visit www.gcash.jp or call the SBPS-GCash Customer Support Center in Japan at +81-6-6945-8480, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.