Visa reported a surge in digital remittances among Filipinos in its 2024 Digital Remittances Adoption report.
Visa said 75 percent of Filipinos used digital apps to send or receive remittances this year, up from 52 percent last year.
It said the global money movement market in the Philippines is now a $264-billion market opportunity, including 43 percent inbound and 57 percent outbound.
“Remittance is very personal to us because the Philippines is a big remittance corridor especially for inbound, and definitely we would have a relative who’s living abroad,” Visa country manager for the Philippines Jeff Navaro said.
Visa and its product, Visa Direct, aim to provide a seamless and great consumer experience that’s secure and reliable when it comes to money movement and payment, or digital remittances.
Visa Direct diminishes the barriers to remittances from both the sending and receiving ends such as high fees, inconvenience, long processes, and a requirement to go to a physical location.
“Visa Direct is a digital platform that connects 8.5 billion endpoints. When I talk about endpoints it means 8.5 visa cards, bank accounts and e wallets” Navaro said.
“Visa is capable of being able to move money from point A to point B, whether it be a bank account, an e wallet, or a visa card and those numbers are 8.5 end points,” he said.
Visa Direct is present in 190 out of 200 countries.
The company believes that digital remittance is the future, as more Filipinos prefer to use them. Visa Direct adapts to the needs of consumers in the digital age.
“They wanted speed, convenience and security twenty years ago. It’s still what they want, to receive it as soon as possible, they want to receive it in the most convenient manner,” Navarro said.
