WESTERN UNION on Wednesday launched its new mobile application in the Philippines, which it expects to help boost fund flows and make remittances more convenient.

The app, which is now available on the App Store and Google Play, features both send and request capabilities with a daily limit of P820,000. It also offers competitive foreign exchange rates.

The Philippines is the first market where Western Union introduced the app.

“I think the Philippines is a great market to innovate,” Gregory Laurent, Western Union vice-president for the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, said during the launch event.

“Digitization in the country is fast-paced, innovation is fast-paced, [and] the regulatory body is supporting such innovation. So, for us, it was actually an obvious choice to take the Philippines as the first market to announce this new receiver and sender app,” he added.

App users can send money to another user from other countries manually or using QR Ph. Meanwhile, the fund request feature is available in countries that host large numbers of Filipinos, such as the United States, Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Receivers can access the money via cash withdrawal or deposit the funds to a bank account or a digital wallet. Users will be get a transaction tracking number via the app.

Mr. Laurent said the P820,000 transaction limit applies only to transactions made through the app. — Katherine K. Chan

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