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OFW remittance made easier

Remittance of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the United States to their families in the Visayas and Mindanao has been made easier with the launch of the Opportunity Card recently spearheaded by Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc. (TSKI), a non-government organization, with its head office based in Iloilo City. It is an ATM card that allows easy access to a person in the United States, who has access to a personal computer to send money to the Philippines. The United States is the initial country of origin for the remittance project.

TSKI has tied up with Opportunity International, an international network of 42 partners in 30 countries that share skills, resources and funds to help the poor, and with Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the second largest bank in the world.

TSKI has decided to include Overseas Filipino Workers as one of the recipients of its service, knowing the expense and at times the difficulty of sending home remittances to their families in the Philippines.

Remittances from Overseas Filipino workers coursed through banks recorded a year-on-growth of 28.3 percent in August 2005 to reach a record high of $954 million.  This brought the cumulative eight-month level to $ 7 billion. This is expected to hit the ten billion mark by the end of the year.

TSKI'S decision to enable its clients to avail of cheap and accessible remittance services find support in a study by the International Monetary Fund cited by Cebu Congressman Eduardo Gullas which said that the aggregate annual cost of 'OFW' remittances was pegged at 13.5 percent. This means that OFWs pay anywhere from $15 dollars to $26 for a typical $200 remittance. Gullas says if global remittance charges are just but in half, it could mean savings of up to 675 million for hundreds of thousands of low-income families struggling to make both ends meet.

Former Vice Governor Demy Sonza, Chairman of the Board of Taytay sa Kauswagan (TSKI) said they welcome this opportunity to serve the Overseas Filipino Workers, which is another first for TSKI.

For his part, Mr. Mark Hibbard, Chief, Operating Officer of the HSBC Internet Payment Services Inc., said this project is also a first for them because normally HSBC does not go into projects where the returns are not big, but they are open to initiating change in the Philippines and it is ideal to set the example to other countries.

(PIA6)