First Shoshin, DA5 partner to pilot ‘contactless, tellerless, cashless’ Western Union branch

In partnership with DA5, a leading authorized agent of Western Union in the Philippines, First Shoshin Holdings Inc. will open up a WU branch as part of its $5M FinTech Hub project that aims to create a “tellerless” one-stop shop for financial needs.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, First Shoshin is on a mission to address the growing demand for moving money with speed, ease, security, and affordability. WU has been providing Filipinos money transfer services since 1990, and First Shoshin is proud to join forces with DA5 to leverage emerging technologies and create an enhanced user experience for both senders and receivers.

The WU branch is set to open by Q2 of this year, with both companies collaborating with plans to reinvent how OTCs operate and scale real-time cross-border payments.

“Our partnership with DA5 will help us reach a wider global consumer base through WU’s expansive scale and size and curtail regulatory issues with cross-border and cross-currency transactions,” said First Shoshin Chairman Jack Ponce-Enrile. “But more importantly, it allows us to explore ways to boost WU’s response to digital developments and bring speed and transparency when it comes to remittances.”

Under the partnership, and in line with its FinTech Hub plan, the Western Union branch will incorporate a contactless, tellerless, and cashless model for an expedited remittance service. Their goal is to enable an end-to-end solution that allows anyone in the world to send or receive money in any currency in real time, through a combination of digital and physical services.

“Our vision is to modernize global money movements and offer customers an improved remittance service with more transparency. Through this branch, we are giving Filipinos a seamless choice to receive money digitally, on the go,” said Ponce-Enrile.

“We are excited to work with First Shoshin and offer this service to Filipinos who are recipients of OFW remittances,” said DA5 CEO and President Raymond Babst. “Our goal is to provide fast, reliable, and convenient money transfer services to meet the needs of people across the country, and we are taking this important step forward because we believe First Shoshin’s commitment to innovation can help us accelerate the process.”