BDO expands remittance reach in Middle East

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. has further expanded its remittance business in the Middle East as it opened its first digital remittance center in partnership with Al Rajhi Bank of Saudi Arabia.

With the expected six percent increase in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year, the center, opened by Tahweel Al Rajhi, aims to serve the round-the-clock banking needs of OFWs and other clients.

Tahweel Al Rajhi is the remittance arm of Al Rajhi Bank and a long-time partner of BDO Remit. The digital remittance center – dubbed as Tahweel Villagio – is open 24/7.

The center located inside the Villagio Mall in Al Batha, Riyadh, considered as the “most overseas Filipino-populated area” in Saudi Arabia provides clients access to all digital channels like ATMs, kiosk machines with point-of-sales terminals, smart phones and laptops, and is installed with LEDs that play how-to guides to assist customers on how to use the aforementioned channels.

The opening of the digital remittance center attended by high-ranking officials from the Philippine embassy, led by Ambassador to  Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto, executives of the Al Rajhi Bank head office, and officers of BDO Remit also paved the way for the launch of Tahweel’s Instant Remittance service.

Genie Gloria, senior vice president and remittance head at BDO, said beneficiary families of OFWs could receive remittances sent from Saudi Arabia in their Kabayan account real time through the Tahweel Al Rajhi app.

“With the Tahweel Al Rajhi app, overseas Filipinos can send money to their beneficiaries in the Philippines using only their phone,” Gloria said.

Remittances from OFWs based in the Middle East increased by one percent to $3.46 billion in 2020. Saudi Arabia was the biggest source with $1.14 billion or 0.8 percent higher than previous year’s $1.13 billion.

BDO Remit is the global remittance service brand of  BDO Unibank.  The bank has more than 1,400 branches and 4,400 ATMs nationwide.