MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Fintech solutions provider I-Pay Commerce Ventures, Inc. today announced that it has bolstered its continuing alliance with Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, by expanding its remittance offering and enhancing convenience for customers using Shopee.
I-Pay, a longtime direct agent of Western Union in the Philippines, will now offer millions of Shopee users the choice to redirect international and domestic Western Union money transfers into their bank accounts digitally with its ‘Direct-to-Bank (DTB)’ service.
As part of its partnership with Shopee Philippines, I-Pay will leverage Western Union’s cross-border digital capabilities on Shopee’s popular online shopping platform, enabling customers to enjoy the convenience of directing any Western Union money transfers into their bank accounts.
This partnership is timely given the limitations brought about by the continuing enhanced community quarantine due to COVID-19, as people search for convenient options in completing important tasks, especially receiving remittances.
“This brings about added convenience and assistance to remittance beneficiaries faced with challenges during the ongoing community quarantine, wherein health risks and social distancing measures make it quite an ordeal, along with having to deal with having to travel far away to visit a limited number of available sub-agent outlets,” said I-Pay Commerce Ventures President Ronald Allan Aquino. “With I-Pay’s partnership with Shopee, our long-held vision of servicing beneficiaries in the most convenient and helpful manner is now realized.”
Alberto Castañeda, Brand Acquisition Manager of Shopee Philippines welcomed the I-Pay alliance as this would expand the mobile commerce site’s reach and offer the opportunity to serve more Filipinos. “Shopee has always been in the forefront of providing shopping convenience to the people, especially during this unfortunate pandemic, particularly offering essential products and services. With users able to arrange their remittance bank transfers soon through the upcoming I-Pay Direct-to-Bank feature in our interface, Shopee is certainly delighted to have this opportunity to serve more people needing such critical services in their lives.”
“The Philippines is an important market for Western Union,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Head of Network, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei & Indochina, Western Union. “It is also among the best-in-class examples of how our multi-channel strategy, aimed at using technology to provide consumer choice, comes alive. We are excited about the partnership of our direct agent I-Pay with Shopee, as it further illustrates our commitment to providing outstanding services to customers in the country.”
In addition to this new service expansion, I-Pay continues to provide both inbound and outbound Western Union money transfer services at over 1,000 of their retail locations.
Customer Guidance
To avail the service, customers must have a Shopee account. Customers can look up Western Union on the Shopee website search bar and click on the IPCVI Store to purchase a PHP20 service voucher.
After payment, the customer will receive a notification on Shopee which will include the voucher code. To receive a money transfer, customers can visit d2b.i-pcv.com and fill out a form including the Western Union Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) and the voucher code. I-Pay will then validate and process the remittance transaction via Western Union systems into the bank account of the customer.
Customers will be able to receive their remittances on the same day via credit to bank accounts or e-wallets through InstaPay, an electronic fund transfer (EFT) service by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
