i-Remit to open branches in Italy

Publicly listed i-Remit Inc., the biggest nonbank remittance company in the country, will start operating out of Italy this August as part of its expansion in Europe.

i-Remit disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday that it recently acquired authorization from the Financial Services Authority in London and Banca D’Italia of Italy to operate its office in Rome as a branch.

The office in Rome will open its doors on Aug. 1 while its Milan branch will start operations in about two weeks, the disclosure said.

“These Italy branches will not only accept remittances from Filipinos sending [money] to their beneficiaries in the Philippines but also from Chinese nationals who will be sending [funds] to their beneficiaries in China,” the disclosure said.

i-Remit is also seeking new offshore markets even within the region. It noted that the enactment of the Payment Services Act of Japan in 2010, for instance, opened that country to the entry of nonbank money remittance companies.

The disclosure said i-Remit has also started the process of obtaining authorization from the Japanese Financial Services Agency to conduct business as a money remittance company through a wholly owned subsidiary.

“Given the positive trend and continuous employment in well-paying industries by developed economies, i-Remit will continue to transform itself into a globally competitive organization providing world-class remittance and payment services to the global Filipino,” the disclosure said.

In Europe, i-Remit estimated that there were 700,000 Filipinos, at least 200,000 of whom were in the United Kingdom while an estimated 175,000 were in the cities and outlying areas of Italy, particularly in Rome, Milan, Florence, Bologna and Naples.

Its wholly owned subsidiary i-Remit Global Remittance Ltd. (IGRL) recently received its license as an authorized payment institution under the European Payment Services Directive, a legislation adopted by the European Union that harmonizes all laws in the European Economic Area pertaining to payment services.

As an authorized payment institution, IGRL can exercise “passporting” rights and is entitled to conduct its activities by establishing money remittance branches and providing cross-border services in the 29 European Economic Area states, namely, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Doris C. Dumlao