ECPay eyes slice of OFW remittance market

MANILA, Philippines - Electronic Commerce Payment Inc. (ECPay), an electronic payment service provider, is eyeing for a slice of the remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos estimated to reach $17 billion this year.

 ECPay offers a variety of e-payment services which include prepaid load products, bills payments and domestic remittance or money transfer.

Jude G. Aguilar, ECPay president and chief executive, said the service will likely be web-based or through online systems.

ECPay   processes approximately 50,000 domestic transactions a day or an aggregate value of P4 billion annually.

Aguilar said large number of overseas Filipinos are tech-savvy and the Internet is just one of their instruments to connect with their families and relatives in the Philippines.

“We want to help them pay their bills, tuition and other payments that are oftentimes diverted to consumer items and non-essentials. In fact, we are working on a system that will allow them to pay all their bills just once,” Aguilar said

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has revised its outlook on remittances coursed through the country’s banking system.

From a flat growth forecast this year or roughly $16.4 billion, it has revised upwards its outlook to a three-percent growth this year.

The BSP, in fact, estimates that 2010 remittances would grow six percent over 2009.

ECPay said it can also harness its other operating platforms including terminals point-of-sale (POS) and server-to-server.

It works with 3,500 retail outlets nationwide including 400 outlets of 7-Eleven, 1,450 outlets of Cebuana Lhullier, 657 outlets of RCPI, Tambunting shops numbering 350, 170 stores of EBiz outlets, as well as shops of Currency Centers, Mail and More, Internet cafes, schools and hotels.

Through these outlets, one can buy: prepaid landline and cellular credits (PLDT, Smart, Digitel, Globe); prepaid Internet service and gaming cards (Blast, Evolve, E-games, Ragnarok); pay bills (PLDT, Smart, Smart Bro, Piltel, Globe Telecom, Digitel Landline, Sun Cellular, Bayantel, Visayas Electric Co. or Veco, Davao Light, Maynilad Water, Manila Water Co., Prime Water, Cable Link, Sky/Home, HSBC, Sunlife, Philamlife); to mobile e-wallet loading (GCash, Smart Money); and domestic remittance (ML Kwarta Padala).

Aguilar said that they will be selling stored value prepaid cards of the MRT in the 7-Eleven stores.

Former trade secretary Jose T. Pardo is the board chairman of ECPay while former senator Vicente T. Paterno and Megaworld Corp. chairman Andrew L. Tan are the board special advisor. Diana Pardo-Aguilar is the treasurer with Jose Victor P. Paterno as director.