MoneySwap, a globally recognized payment solutions firm, is eyeing to expand its reach in the Asia-Pacific region by forging a partnership with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) as it rolls out an innovative platform for financial services in the country.
Seng S.H. Rhee, managing director for MoneySwap-Philippines, disclosed that the company is looking at actually converting at least 30,000 prepaid cardholders in the country in the next three months with the launch of the MoneySwap Prepaid Card, a flexible solutions co-branded with RCBC.
A change in the spending habits of Filipinos
During the fourth quarter of 2010, Filipino Visa cardholders spent a total of US $1 billion, according to Ian Jamieson, Visa International-Asia Pacific country manager for Philippines and Guam.
“Of the total transactions, a huge chunk was made online (54 percent)—15 percent of purchases made overseas. The remaining transactions were completed through merchants, automated teller machines (ATMs), and other electronic devices,” notes Jamieson.
He also added that tourists who visited the country—majority of which were Americans, Koreans, British, Australians, and Japanese—during the said period used their Visa cards while they were in the Philippines.
Replacing the missing link of the credit card
“The Philippines is one of those countries that employ a stringent and very strict procedure in issuing credit cards. Aside from this, it is also a known fact that majority of Filipinos today do not have bank accounts,” says Rhee. “MoneySwap is providing a new avenue for this market by introducing the missing link in the local financial sphere, which is the MoneySwap Prepaid Card, powered by RCBC.”
This electronic wallet (e-wallet), which provides the same kind of authority and identity that a credit card has, allows card users a variety of services that include fund transfers and payment of bills online. The MoneySwap Prepaid Card also doubles as a foreign
exchange card that can be used to withdraw cash abroad, do transactions and purchases, and create payments in the same currency as the place of destination, without stressing out cardholders with the hassle of a maintaining balance. Local currencies where the card is used will be dispensed and the conversion rate will depend on Visa foreign exchange rates.
“I believe that every product has to have an extra value,” notes Rhee, adding that the MoneySwap Prepaid Card is accepted in all Bancnet affiliate merchants nationwide and over 30 million Visa merchants worldwide. “What our cardholders can also enjoy about the MoneySwap Prepaid Card are the discounts that they can avail for themselves from our partner merchants and establishments, which include coffee shops, wellness spas, beauty salons, and many others.”
The partnership with RCBC, according to Rhee, is geared towards MoneySwap becoming one of the bank’s distribution channels for prepaid cards. “We have been working with RCBC for quite some time now and we’ve seen how professional they are. We see this partnership as something that is very beneficial to both firms in terms, with MoneySwap bringing in funds from other countries and RCBC helping us extend our reach here in the Philippines.”
