I-Remit ties up with Indonesian bank

Cash transfer firm I-Remit Inc. has tied up with Bank Internasional Indonesia, a unit of Malaysian Banking Berhad, in line with its bid to reach out to the non-Filipino remittance market.

The partnership between iRemit and one of the largest banks in Indonesia is seen enabling the local remittance company to reach overseas Indonesians and their beneficiaries across the country of more than 17,500 islands through the bank’s 368 branches and more than 1,190 automated teller machines.

Both the Philippines and Indonesia have large populations of overseas workers and expatriates. They are also among the world’s biggest recipients of remittance inflows, with the Philippines receiving $21.3 billion and Indonesia $7.1 billion, according to the 2010 Migration and Remittances Factbook of the World Bank.

“We are aggressively expanding to various parts of the globe, not just in places where there are concentrations of the Filipino diaspora,” iRemit chairman Bansan Choa told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday. “We also aim to increase our share in other remittance corridors—money transfer transactions done by overseas workers, business professionals, and expatriates of other nationalities and ethnic backgrounds to different points around the world.”

The partnership with an equally trusted institution like Bank Internasional Indonesia seeks to address the need for speedy and reliable money service in the various remittance corridors around the world, Choa said. “This alliance contributes to iRemit’s growing international stature as a trusted global brand among overseas workers, business professionals, and expatriates of various nationalities.”

iRemit has presence in 24 countries and territories. In March, it opened new offices in Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan. In Europe, the company is currently setting up a branch in Ireland and will soon open branches in Germany and the Netherlands.

In the meantime, iRemit is also negotiating a partnership with a bank in Myanmar to tap the remittance corridor of this Southeast Asian nation.

“Although the remittances of our OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] remain the heart of iRemit’s business, we have observed an increase in inter-office transactions outside of the Philippines such as from Canada to China or Australia to Singapore,” Choa said.

“We believe that the strategic locations of our offices and the excellent service the company provides have made iRemit the preferred choice even among non-Filipino money senders,” he said.—Doris C. Dumlao