Circle Internet Financial and Coins.ph, a cryptocurrency exchange and digital wallet provider, have announced a partnership to promote financial inclusion through remittances in the Philippines.
The collaboration aims to raise awareness about the benefits of using USDC, a regulated and fully-backed digital dollar, for secure, low-cost and near-instant international money transfers, the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 10) press release.
Remittances play a vital role in the Philippines’ economy, with $36.1 billion in remittance flows recorded in 2022 alone, according to the press release. However, traditional remittance channels often involve high fees and lengthy transaction times. In addition, 44% of Filipinos are unbanked and therefore face challenges in accessing remittances.
Coins.ph and Circle aim to improve the existing remittance landscape in the Philippines by leveraging USDC’s real-time settlements and low transaction costs, the release said. The partnership will kick off with educational campaigns and community engagement initiatives to help Filipinos abroad learn how to use USDC for remittances.
Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou said in the release that the partnership will provide a faster, cheaper, and more accessible remittance option for the company’s 18 million Filipino users and their families abroad. Zhou also highlighted Coins.ph’s commitment to providing innovative services that have a tangible impact on users’ everyday lives.
USDC is a stablecoin that is widely used worldwide for various applications, including humanitarian aid, eCommerce, cross-border transactions, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, according to the press release.
Circle Vice President for Asia Pacific and CEO Singapore Raagulan Pathy said in the release that the partnership with Coins.ph aligns with Circle’s mission of making the movement of money more accessible, inclusive and efficient. The collaboration also supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the transaction cost of migrant remittances to less than 3% by 2023.
PYMNTS Intelligence has found that some consumers are turning to cryptocurrencies as a payment option that allows them to send cross-border remittances swiftly and securely. About a quarter of consumers see the options to send funds in cryptocurrency as a key motivator in choosing a payment services provider, according to “The Digital Currency Shift: The Cross-Border Remittances Report,” a PYMNTS and Stellar Development Foundation collaboration.