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Tag: remittance

  • Tencent Revolutionizes Cross-Border Payments: Expands Remittance Services to Global Audience

    Tencent Revolutionizes Cross-Border Payments: Expands Remittance Services to Global Audience

    Tencent, the Chinese multinational conglomerate, has extended its cross-border payment service, TenPay Global, to non-Chinese citizens. This move allows overseas individuals to send money directly into China and avail themselves of WeChat-related services.

    Enhanced Access to Digital Transactions in China

    Tencent’s newly launched service, “Remit to China for Non-Chinese Citizens,” permits foreign passport holders to transfer funds directly from overseas to beneficiaries in mainland China. This expansion in Tencent’s service offerings is a significant move in making China’s highly digitalized payment ecosystem more accessible to international tourists, students, expatriates, and business travelers.

    With this service, overseas users can transfer funds to beneficiaries in China using mobile phone numbers associated with WeChat accounts. Upon receipt, the funds can be instantly used for a variety of services within the Weixin ecosystem. These include online shopping, mobile top-ups, utility payments, and other everyday transactions.

    This service is particularly beneficial for international students, workers, travelers, and expatriates in China. TenPay Global offers round-the-clock access and allows transfers to be completed within minutes.

    Strengthening Cross-Border Payment Connectivity

    This launch is part of Tencent’s broader strategy to bolster cross-border payment connectivity between China and international markets. The current TenPay Global remittance platform works in conjunction with over 60 international banks and money transfer providers, supporting transfers to China from more than 100 countries and territories worldwide.

    As cross-border mobility begins to recover across Asia, payment providers are concentrating on minimizing friction for international consumers seeking access to local payment networks.

    Tencent’s remittance service is a key component of the internationalization strategy for Weixin Pay, Tencent’s leading domestic payment platform. The company has also advanced its “Pay with Your Home E-Wallet” initiative, enabling foreign visitors to make payments in mainland China using digital wallets issued in their home markets.

    With over 40 global wallet providers, TenPay Global currently has 36 e-wallets from 13 countries and regions connected to Weixin Pay’s network.

    Tencent’s expansion is indicative of the ongoing efforts by Chinese tech companies to merge domestic payment platforms with international financial networks, simplifying transactions within China’s predominantly cashless economy for foreign users. This initiative also strengthens WeChat’s position as a hub for both payments and everyday digital services, extending its reach to a rapidly growing international customer base.

    Questions & Answers

    What services does Tencent’s “Remit to China for Non-Chinese Citizens” allow?

    The service enables foreign passport holders to transfer funds directly from overseas to recipients in mainland China. The funds can then be used for various services within the Weixin ecosystem, like online shopping, mobile top-ups, and utility payments.

    What initiative has Tencent expanded apart from the remittance service?

    Tencent has also expanded its “Pay with Your Home E-Wallet” initiative, which allows overseas visitors to make payments in mainland China using digital wallets issued in their home markets.

    Which countries and regions are connected to Weixin Pay’s network?

    Currently, 36 e-wallets from 13 countries and regions, including the United States, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, and Mongolia, are connected to Weixin Pay’s network.

  • Vietcombank Remittance named best remittance company in Vietnam

    Vietcombank Remittance named best remittance company in Vietnam

    Vietcombank Remittance was honored as “Remittance Company of the Year – Vietnam” for the third consecutive time by Asian Banking & Finance on Dec. 24.

    This achievement affirms the quality of services and the growth of Vietcombank Remittance, recognizing the company’s efforts and demonstrating its position in both the domestic and international remittance markets.

    Vietcombank Remittance is the only remittance company in Vietnam to organize the Client Conference for three consecutive years successfully. This year’s event featured participation from strategic partners in Taiwan, South Korea, the United States, and several other countries, highlighting the company’s role in fostering international cooperation and collaboration.

    The company consistently supports government agencies in developing policies to enhance remittance resources. Vietcombank Remittance actively participates in programs organized by the Overseas Vietnamese Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to promote collaboration among stakeholders and increase the efficiency of remittance flows. The company has also significantly contributed to Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee’s project on “Optimizing the Effectiveness of Remittance Resources.”

    Vietcombank Remittance is committed to collaborating with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to implement specific initiatives such as supporting the improvement of policy mechanisms and facilitating convenient conditions for overseas Vietnamese to send money home. It collaborates closely with regulatory agencies to create clear legal frameworks and facilitate the use of technology in remittance operations.

    The company is leading initial efforts to establish the Vietnam Remittance Association to elevate the industry’s position on the international stage. This association is expected to serve as a bridge between the government, businesses, and the overseas Vietnamese community, ensuring policies are geared toward sustainable development.

  • UniTeller Grows Remittance Network Across APAC

    UniTeller Grows Remittance Network Across APAC

    The U.S. based cross-border and remittance payments processor is extending its remittance services to more customers in the Asia Pacific under a partnership with Tranglo.

    UniTeller has announced a partnership with Tranglo to further expand its services in 13 Asia Pacific markets, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal.

    The partnership will add more than 58,000 cash pick-up points, more than 1,100 account deposit banks, and nine e-wallet platforms to its existing paying network of 90,000 paying locations in the region, according to an announcement on Thursday.

    UniTeller CEO Alberto Guerra said the partnership is a great step forward in the company’s expansion plan for the Asia Pacific this year.

    Founded in Malaysia in 2008, Tranglo operates a cross-border payment hub that provides smart services for mobile airtime top-ups, as well as foreign remittance and business payments.

    Earlier this year, Ripple acquired a 40-percent stake in Tranglo, to allow the blockchain payments company to meet growing customer demand in APAC, one of the fastest-growing regions for RippleNet. As such, UniTeller’s partnership with Tranglo also gives it access to RippleNet.

  • What’s next for remittances to Vietnam?

    What’s next for remittances to Vietnam?

    Global economic and political conditions cast doubt on the inflows, which have been an important source of capital for Vietnam.

    Vietnam is still in the list of top remittance recipients, but experts are uncertain about the future considering recent economic and political developments in the world.

    According to World Bank’s estimates, during 2016, Vietnam received around $13.4 billion from overseas, up 3 percent from 2015.

    The Washington-based bank noted that remittances to developing countries, in general, fell for a second consecutive year in 2016, a trend not seen in three decades.

    For Vietnam, over the past 25 years, the flow of overseas funds has increased around 100-fold, from $140 million in 1993 to approximately $13.4 billion in 2016, according to latest data released in May by the World Bank.

    Last year, remittances made up for 6.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

    The U.S. has been the largest source of remittances for Vietnam, accounting for around 60 percent of all remittance inflows last year, as calculated by us based on several estimates.

    But there are uncertainties ahead. Credit Suisse, in its report released in March this year, warned of a possible slowdown in 2017, given global economic and tighter border controls imposed by the Trump administration.

    Analysts said remittances could be affected by the recent hike in interest rates in the U.S., which means senders can earn good profits by keeping money in the U.S.

    In recent years, the purpose of using remittances shifts from family support to business investments, real estate and savings, Atish Shrestha, the regional director for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam at Western Union, told via email.

    As such, the logic of holding on to their money makes sense, Shrestha said.

    He added that while economic and political conditions in the send countries may weaken remittance inflows to Vietnam, the growing number of Vietnamese migrants working abroad may help to offset these effects.

    In 2016, the number of Vietnamese who went to work abroad hit 126,300, exceeding the projection by over 26 percent, and up nearly 10 percent from the previous year, according to the Department of Overseas Labor.

    Vietnam’s major source of remittances, aside from North America, are Australia and European countries, according to Western Union.

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  • Mobile money halves overseas remittance costs

    Mobile money halves overseas remittance costs

    The average cost of sending international remittances with mobile money is less than half that of using global money transfer operators (MTOs), a new GSMA report reveals.

    Such lower prices contribute directly toward achieving targets within United Nations sustainable development goal (SDG) 102. Lower transaction fees also translate directly into additional income for remittance recipients.

    “Through mobile money services, the industry is directly supporting the goal of expanded financial inclusion for migrants and their families by reducing international remittance costs,” GSMA Chief Regulatory Officet John Giusti said. “The potential gains of achieving this target could be as high as $20 billion in additional income for remittance recipients.”

    The report noted that if people were able to send remittances from a mobile money account, the average cost of sending $200 was 2.7%, compared to 6% when using global MTOs.

    GSMA estimates that there are more than 400 million registered consumer accounts for mobile money across over 90 countries.

    “While today mobile money services are largely used for domestic transactions, international transfers represent the fastest-growing segment of mobile money services. In just a few years’ time, mobile money has moved from a purely domestic service to one that allows migrants to send remittances between more than 20 countries globally,” Giusti explained.

    World Bank data shows that more than 250 million people live outside their country of birth and regularly send money home, providing a financial lifeline to their families and contributing to the economies of their home countries.

    In 2015, global remittances totalled $581.6 billion, of which $431.6 billion, or nearly 75%, was sent to the developing world. However, the cost of international transfers remains high and directly impacts the income of remittance recipients.

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