Philippine-based crypto exchange Coins.ph says it is teaming up with fintech firm Circle to enable its 18 million Filipino users to enjoy better remittance services.
In a statement, Coins.ph says stablecoin-denominated remittances enable fast, cheap and secure international money transfers.
Circle is the company behind USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market that aims to keep a 1-to-1 peg with the US dollar.
The stablecoin issuer the partnership aims to raise awareness about the benefits of using USDC for sending money abroad.
“By driving real-time settlements and minimal transaction costs, Coins.ph and Circle’s partnership aims to improve the existing remittance landscape, starting in the Philippines, the fourth largest recipient of remittances globally. The initiative begins with educational campaigns and community engagement initiatives to help Filipinos abroad learn to use USDC for remittances.”
Remittances are a major contributor to the Philippine’s economy. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, money transfers from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached $36.1 billion in 2022. The amount accounts for 8.9% and 8.4% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI), respectively.
Coins.ph says despite the massive size of the nation’s remittance industry, conventional channels for money transfers still involve high fees and lengthy transaction times, which pose challenges for the unbanked, who made up 44% of the country’s adult population in 2021.
Says Raagulan Pathy, Circle’s Vice President for Asia Pacific,
“By making cross-border transactions near real-time and dramatically reducing transaction costs, we support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of reducing to less than 3 percent the transaction cost of migrant remittances by 2023. Together, we’re making critical steps toward increasing economic opportunity and prosperity in the Philippines.”
