iRemit prepares for 7% growth in OFW remittances

iRemit Global Remittance Ltd. is geared for a 5 to 7 percent growth in remittances as it opens new branches abroad, expands its market, and sees more informal transactions shifting to formal channels.

iRemit CEO Bansan C. Choa said in an interview that iRemit posted $1.4 billion in inbound remittances in 2011 and may beat this by at least 5 to 7 percent this year. iRemit’s growth in the first half already outpaced the total industry’s 5.7 percent growth and this pace will likely be sustained, he said.

Choa said iRemit was opening new branches in Indonesia by September and will expand its network in Japan by next year. iRemit opened branches in Tokyo and Nagoya in May and will open in Osaka and Yokohama next year. The company is also studying the market in the Netherlands and Ireland despite the eurozone crisis. India and Vietnam are also seen as potential growth markets.

“Despite the global crisis, we can expand by taking care of remittance needs of other nationalities. For example, our branch in Canada can transmit to Hong Kong. We can also serve the China market,” Choa said.

Total remittances for the first half reached $10.13 billion, up 5.1 percent from $9.64 billion in the same period a year ago, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Cash sent by overseas-based Filipinos in June alone increased by 4 percent to a new monthly record high of $1.8 billion from $1.7 billion in the same month last year.