Security Bank Corporation announced its partnership with UniTeller Financial Services, an international cross-border and remittance payments processor.
The bank said it recently joined UniTeller’s extensive payout network in the Philippines in March 2021 to enable greater financial access for Filipino remittance receivers.
“With the Philippines being one of the biggest remittance-receiving markets in the world, it is important for us to expand our existing payer network in order to meet the sharp rise in demand for digital payments in recent months.” said UniTeller Chief Executive Alberto Guerra.
He added that, “Partnering with key market players such as Security Bank allows us to bring our cutting-edge solution with best-in-class security and compliance to more customers and achieve our goal of making financial services accessible to everyone.”
This comes at a time when appetites towards digital payments have grown vastly amid increased online activity in the past year, resulting in a greater need to promote market efficiency and expand Filipinos’ access to a broad range of financial services.
With Security Bank as a payer of UniTeller, Filipino immigrants living in the U.S. will be able to send money within a matter of minutes via direct account deposit.
Cash pick-up is also available at any Security Bank branch or ATM across the Philippines.
With 314 branches and 777 ATM’s in its network, the addition of Security Bank as a payer of UniTeller increases the accessibility of digital payment channels for users, eliminating traditional pain points experienced by remittance customers in the past such as travel time and in-person transactions at remittance agent locations.
“Security Bank’s partnership with UniTeller comes at an opportune time. Filipinos here at home will be able to receive remittances from their loved ones in the U.S. in a fast, secure, and safe way,” said John Cary Ong, EVP and Transaction Banking Group Head.
Noel Fernando Cristal, President and Country Director of UniTeller Philippines, said that, “At UniTeller, we have experienced a tremendous demand for digital remittances within the past year not only from the retail side but also from our business partners who are increasingly looking for partners that have proven capabilities in digital payments.”
He noted that,“As online payments continue to gain momentum, there is a real need to expand access to these channels to offer consumers more remittance options that are suitable and affordable to them.”