Real-Time HK-PH Remittance Made Easy with AlipayHK and GCash

Anjie lou delos Reyes
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AlipayHK, an electronic wallet operated by the CK Hutchison Holdings Limited and Ant Financial Services Group, and GCash, an internationally-acclaimed micropayment service of Globe Telecom, announced today a revolutionary cross-border remittance service, that is between Hong Kong and the Philippines, powered by Alipay's cutting-edge blockchain technology.

Real-Time HK-PH Remittance Made Easy with AlipayHK and GCash
Real-Time HK-PH Remittance Made Easy with AlipayHK and GCash

The partnership between AlipayHK and GCash will benefit some 180,000 Filipinos based in Hong Kong in making their remittances to their loved ones in the country fast (in just seconds), secure and more convenient. As such, it eliminates the usual issues encountered with traditional remittance services like, but not limited to:

  • Long waiting time
  • Unfavorable exchange rate
  • High transaction fee
  • Lack of transparency
  • Cumbersome pickup process

The blockchain technology, which became popular with the emergence of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, streamlines the process as the verification and execution of the transaction happen in parallel, thus radically improving the delivery speed. Every transaction is highly transparent as both the sender and receiver can track their money all throughout. In addition, all parties are notified including GCash, AlipayHK, and Standard Chartered Bank, the underlying banking infrastructure of this initiative. Moreover, every information that is stored or shared is further encrypted to ensure that user's privacy it secured and protected.

Also Read: Cloudfone and Android Zone Stores Now Accepting GCash

“We are very excited to introduce this new remittance solution to our users in Hong Kong, and in particular to the Filipino community in the city,” said Jennifer Tan, CEO of Alipay Payment Services (HK) Limited (APSHK). “What used to be a long process of physically going to a remittance booth, queuing in line for hours and filling out forms, is now easily and securely done over the mobile phone in just a few seconds. Together with GCash, we aim to provide Filipino expatriates a more convenient, seamless experience to transfer money back home to their families in the Philippines. We will also continue to provide tailor-made solutions for our customers as we aim to enhance their daily lives through our secure and fuss-free approach.”
Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison Holdings and Chairman of Alipay Payment Services (HK) Limited said, “This cooperation with GCASH to bring remittance to the Philippines using the new technology is the first step and there are many other places Hong Kong people need to remit money. I’m happy to see that the AlipayHK team is hard at work to expand this service to more people, bringing us closer to our families and friends with a cheaper and quicker solution.
Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of Mynt, the operator of GCash said, “GCash is building a cashless ecosystem to make financial services affordable and accessible to every Filipino as we aim to provide the Philippines’ underserved market with convenient options for load top-up, remittance, and cashless payments for goods and services, among others. This time, in partnership with AlipayHK and Ant Financial, GCash is able to achieve another breakthrough to make sending money to the Philippines easier, more convenient, and more secure for Filipinos abroad. We believe that for overseas Filipinos, sending money home to their family’s GCash mobile wallet will soon be the norm.”
Lisa Robins, Global Head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, said, “Remittances are a lifeblood of many communities in the Philippines, the third largest remittance market with US$33 billion of inflows in 2017. We are proud to collaborate with Ant Financial, and act as their banking partner for this new service to make remittances easier, cheaper and more secure. This evidences our joint commitment to deliver financial services to the unbanked and underbanked and exemplifies our “Here for Good” brand promise.”
Eric Jing, Executive Chairman and CEO of Ant Financial said, “We are thrilled to witness AlipayHK and GCash jointly launch the groundbreaking cross-wallet remittance function. Ant Financial is dedicated to exploring fintech breakthroughs and applying them to benefit more people in more places. This is a new starting point and significant step forward in accelerating Alipay’s pace to promote tech for good, and financial inclusion globally. Through leveraging our technological capabilities, we are committed to bringing financial services to the large underserved populations in Asia and beyond together with our ecosystem partners who share our vision and mission.”
“Ant Financial and Alipay have been exploring the cutting-edge blockchain technology since 2015. Blockchain is revolutionizing the remittance industry, and we look forward to further innovating and expanding the application of the technology in global remittances, together with local wallet partners and other ecosystem partners,” Jing added.

This technology is now live and free of transaction fee for the first three months. The amount a person from HK can send to PH is only 5K HKD per day as allowed by the Hong Kong regulation body.

For more info, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/gcash

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