It is in the nature of a Filipino to help his or her loved ones during a time of crisis. Whenever they’re in need, we are always the first ones to act. May it be night or day, rain or shine, we are always first on the scene, always ready to help. Sometimes, the help they require aren’t really in the form of material things, such as a helpful advice or a listening ear towards their daily stress. However, one main concern that usually pops up is always something that involves financials. Of course, this concern isn’t new at all. You may have had relatives in the past who were urged to borrow a few amounts from you due to unforeseen circumstances, and you, the kindhearted loved one is always happy to comply. The act of sending money towards another region is a typical activity within the Filipino culture, after all. Hardworking parents would send money towards their kids in the province for their education, while middle-aged working class people would remit money towards their parents as well in a reverse form of this act, though the latter is more common than the other.
Now, at first glance, money remittance may look to function in only a singular process, namely, the sender would have to go to their nearest money remittance branch, fill in a form, submit that completed form together with the money, then wait for the teller to provide them with the receipt and control number, which in turn would be given to the receiver of the cash via text message. It all looks permanent and simple, so much that even the youngest member of your family would be able to describe the very same process for you if you were to ask. However, the advent of technology brought in alternative processes which definitely made it much easier for people to receive their money in no time. These processes utilized the different forms of technology, which in turn forever changed the singular image of “money remittance” as a whole. Don’t believe us? Here are just a few major examples.
- Via bank to bank transfer
In 2017, the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) found that 15.8 million Filipinos have their own bank accounts. Years had since passed, and obviously, that number may have grown in the thousands (and even millions) in that short span of time. In such case, one of the alternatives to the usual money remittance process would be a bank to bank money transfer. This can be done in one or two ways, but basically, the sender may send over the amount from his account towards the account of the receiver. Now, this process used to be singular too, in a way that the sender has to go to his nearest bank branch and deposit the money in the bank account of the receiver. Nowadays, he or she may simply log-in in his/her banking app, then transfer the money with only a few clicks on their smartphone. This is even more flexible due to the fact that both the sender and the receiver of the money do not even need to be using the same bank. If the receiver has a different bank than the sender, they would still be able to receive the deposited or transferred cash amount, though inter-banking transactions may cost the sender a little bit of fee. Either way, this seems to be a well-accepted alternative nowadays, since it would save everyone time. Just think about it, if you have the app installed on your phone, you no longer have to line up in the bank, with just a few clicks, the money would be wired towards your friend or loved ones.
- Via online money remittance
Now, as flexible as bank to bank money transfers may be, no one can ever replace the main purveyors of money transfer services, which is the remittance centers. Cebuana Lhuillier has been at the forefront of this service since the beginning (aside from their pawning service, of course), which is why they are the go-to option if you’re aiming for a more traditional, yet, modern take on money remittance. Cebuana Lhuillier’s online money remittance is done via an app as well, but instead of an online banking app, it is done with an online pawnshop and money remittance app, namely, the newly introduced eCebuana App. It’s fairly easy to use as well, with a lot of options. The sender can either choose to send the amount towards a money remittance branch, towards a Micro Savings account, or towards the recipient’s own bank account. Again, this may be as convenient and flexible as an online money transfer. The only downside may be that the recipient would need to go outdoors to withdraw the amount from an ATM or a money remittance branch, but the process is fast and reliable so they wouldn’t be outdoors for a long time, reducing any risk of being caught up in the pandemic.
- Via bank to money remittance partner
Cebuana Lhuillier isn’t new to developing and evolving their services for the convenience of the Filipino people, which is why it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’ve recently signed up in partnership with one of the leading banks in the Philippines, namely, with BPI or Bank of the Philippine Islands to introduce the new BPI to Cash. This is great news for BPI account holders who do not have the time to visit their nearest branch, especially during the pandemic. The process is fairly simple as well:
- The sender may go to https://bpitocash.com/ and select Cebuana Lhuillier from the options.
- He/she would then need to enter the full amount to be sent, followed by the full name of the receiver.
- The sender would then need to log-in to their BPI online account and choose fund source.
- They would then need to enter the OTP sent to the number registered to their BPI online account.
- After that, they may send the cash reference number to the receiver. The receiver would need to present this cash reference number to the nearest Cebuana Lhuillier branch in order to acquire the cash.
With all of that being said, nothing beats the Filipino spirit of camaraderie and love. After all, it is the duty of every Filipino to look after each other, especially during the time of crisis and the pandemic. Of course, Cebuana Lhuillier is always there to back them up with the arduous task of sending money to the people that they care about, evolving their businesses and services to cater to every Filipino’s needs.