IMTC Conferences

PHILIPPINES MONEY TRANSFER MARKET:
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Filipinos in the US and Canada:
Filipinos are the second largest immigrant group in the United States, after Mexican immigrants. There are approximately 3.1 million Filipinos (or from filipino ancestry) in the United States. About 80 % of the Filipino-Americans are United States Citizens. A number of Filipinos hold dual citizenship. The Filipino immigrant population grew rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s and has continued to grow. More than 25% have arrived in the last decade.
The Filipino born account for a large share of all immigrants in Western states; nearly half of the Filipino born immigrants reside in California. In the last decade a number of states have seen the size of their Filipino immigrant population grow.
 View and Download this document on Filipinos in the US.
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas estimates that there were over 630,000 Filipinos in Canada in December 2009. Of that figure, over 550,000 are permanent residents, while the rest work in temporary jobs.
Last year, some 17,000 newly hired Filipino workers were deployed to Canada, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), making it count among the top 10 destination countries for Filipino OFWs..
 View and Download this document on Filipinos in Canada.

Money Transfers to the Philippines:

Remittances enter the Philippines through a number of formal and informal channels, including the banking system, money transfer companies, cellular phones, and hand-carrying into the country. Officially reported remittances to the Philippines have been increasing over the last several years, reaching record high levels in 2010 with an estimated 21 Billion Dollars.
Although the percentage increase year to year has slowed down, from 18% increase in 2005 and 14% in 2008, the rate of increase is still a high 8%. Most remittance markets have been hit by the global crisis, but the volume in remittances to this country has kept on growing (see chart)
This increasing trend in officially reported remittances is partly a function of the formal sectors capturing a larger share of the total remittance market from informal market participants. The other contributor to the increasing trend in reported remittances is the shift in the filipinos workers to more highly skilled jobs (e.g., healthcare: nursing) with higher wages.
Remittances to the Philippines are sent from all over the world, however, the vast majority of remittances are sent from the U.S. ( around 50 % of total remittances, 10 B), followed by Saudi Arabia and Canada. Although the US is not among the top ten destinations for filipinos now, one key factor is the fact that a number of Money Transfer Institutions route their remittances through U.S. and a second factor is the average amount sent by filipinos in the US is larger due to higher skilled professional/technical jobs done here compared to other countries. Remittances sent home by Filipinos in Canada in 2009, amounting to some US $1.9 billion.

The Banks are the MT leaders in the Philippines:
Historically, Philippine National Bank (PNB) had dominated the remittance market, with about a 20 percent market share. However, in 2005, PNB was replaced as market leader by the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the nation’s third largest bank, who saw its remittance business grow by 27 percent in 2006. PNB then fell to third place when Metrobank in 2006 increased its market share to 22 percent.
Given the role of the U.S., a spate of remittance centers (and subsidiaries) has recently opened in the U.S. In 2007 alone, three Philippine banks each opened remittances branches in the U.S. and several formed partnerships with existing remittance companies that have an established client base. Overall, in the U.S., eight of the ten largest Philippine Banks have some form of remittance operation catering to the U.S.-based Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) population. Banco De Oro, through its affiliation with one of the Philippines’ largest retailing conglomerates, the SM Group, are paying remittances at SM Supermalls and Hypermarkets.
Several Philippine institutions, including Metrobank, PNB, M Lhuillier, offer the convenience of door-to-door remittance in order to gain a competitive advantage. Rural Banks and other institutions are also entering the market and Mobile Money (Cellphone wallets) is right around the corner.
  View and Download this document from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - 2008

Cost of MT to the Philippines:
The World Bank Group has been publishing the cost of a MT in a number of corridors. An average US 200 MT from the US to the Philippines costs:

The Institutions surveyed in the US were: Xoom - Western Union - Wells Fargo Vigo - RCBC Remitance Center - PNB (Philippines National Bank)  - NYBay Remit - MoneyGram - Lucky Money - LBC - Johnny Air Cargo - Horizon International Remittance. - Visit Us to Philippines Price Data for detailed information.

The Institutions surveyed in Canada were: Western Union - Toronto Dominion Bank - ScotiaBank - Royal Bank of Canada - Ria Reliable Peso Remit - PNB Global Remit - MoneyGram - Metro Remittance - Iremit - iKobo - Coinstar. - Visit Canada to Philippines Price Data for detailed information.