Circle Collaborates with Coins.ph to Promote Financial Inclusion Through Remittances in the Philippines

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Stablecoin issuer and fintech company Circle has revealed a strategic alliance with Coins.ph, a digital asset provider based in the Philippines, aimed at enhancing the current remittance framework in the region.

This collaboration intends to encourage the adoption of -denominated remittances as a secure, cost-effective, and nearly instantaneous option for international money transfers among Coins.ph’s 18 million Filipino users.

Circle x Coins.ph

In 2022, remittance inflows to the Philippines reached an impressive $36.1 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). Circle noted that this highlights the ongoing importance of remittances to the Philippine economy.

Nevertheless, conventional remittance methods frequently incur high fees and prolonged processing durations.

The World Bank reported that the average expense for sending a $200 remittance to the Asia region in 2022 was 5.7%. The situation is particularly difficult for the unbanked demographic in the Philippines, which represented 44% of the adult population in 2021, as indicated by the country’s central bank.

To tackle these challenges, the partnership between Coins.ph and Circle aims to facilitate real-time settlements and reduce transaction costs in the Philippines, which ranks as the fourth largest recipient of remittances worldwide. The initiative will commence with the introduction of educational campaigns and community outreach efforts designed to assist Filipinos abroad in utilizing USDC for remittances.

In response to this development, Raagulan Pathy, Vice President for Asia Pacific at Circle, stated,

“By making cross-border transactions nearly real-time and significantly lowering transaction costs, we support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the transaction cost of migrant remittances to below 3 percent by 2023. Together, we’re taking essential steps toward enhancing economic opportunity and prosperity in the Philippines.”

Remittances to the Philippines

Notable Bitcoin payment service and wallet provider Strike announced the extension of its “Send Globally” feature to the Philippines in January of this year, allowing locals to receive lightning-based remittances directly into their bank accounts.

This feature is supported in the Southeast Asian nation by Pouch.ph, a Bitcoin company facilitating peso payments via Bitcoin’s lightning network.

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