Editor’s note: This press release is sponsored by the Bank of the Philippine Islands and was handled by BrandRap, the sales and marketing arm of Rappler. No member of the news and editorial team participated in the publishing of this piece.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has been recognized for its remarkable work in bolstering the remittance landscape and setting the pace for open banking in the country to provide more ways for Filipinos to send money whenever and wherever they are.

BPI earned the award for best remittances service provider in the Philippines at the 16th Annual Best Financial Institution Awards by Alpha Southeast Asia.

“BPI is grateful for being recognized as the best provider of remittance service in the country. Remittances are the bedrock of our economy as it fuels both corporate funds management and private consumption. As an industry leader, we are committed to bringing further development to the remittance landscape to address the evolving needs of Filipinos in terms of money sending and receiving money,” said Reginaldo Anthony Cariaso, head of BPI corporate banking – strategy, products, and support.

This is the first time that BPI won in the category. BPI cited the various services that it rolled out in the past year as the main growth driver for its remittance business.

With the Application Programming Interface (API) components set in motion, BPI is bounding toward its mission to become a pace-setter for open banking in the country. Through this, BPI managed to form strategic partnerships with different remittance companies and strengthened its global and local presence, bringing its remittance services closer to Filipinos wherever they are.

BPI became the first local bank to launch the SWIFT global payment innovation. This advanced payment method enabled faster, more transparent, and traceable cross-border payments. In 2021, the bank posted a 57% increase in transaction volume via SWIFT.

BPI also launched the Outward Remittance via digital channels which enabled BPI clients to send money from their Peso or US Dollar account to a foreign bank account via BPI Online, BPI Mobile app, and Bizlink.

Another remarkable BPI innovation is the Remit to Account service which allows sending of funds to a BPI account via select partner remittance centers and pawnshops. Aside from providing various additional ways for clients to send money, this project also provided its partners with an additional revenue stream. In 2021, Remit to Account recorded 207% growth in volume from the previous year.

BPI also offers worldwide remittance to any local bank. This service enabled its corporate partners including remittance tie-ups based worldwide and retail clients such as OFWs and their families to remit from abroad to any local bank account as well as top up their e-wallets.

BPI also continues to complement its remittance business with financial literacy seminars worldwide, aiming to promote remittance solutions that will help address the special needs of Filipinos living and working abroad. – Rappler.com