Overseas Filipino workers from all parts of the globe should take advantage of the recent tie-up between Sendwave, a new money transfer app, and virtual wallet provider GCash, in sending remittances to their families free of charge particularly this December.

Even as the world was plagued with the Covid-19 pandemic, dollars sent home by OFWs hit an all-time high in 2021, with personal remittances up by 5.1 percent or a record high of $34.88 billion from $33.19 billion in 2020, exceeding the previous all-time high of $33.47 billion in 2019 before the Covid outbreak, records from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed.

During the Sendwave launch held recently in Quezon City, Dan Santos, Sendwave Growth Manager for the Philippines, explained that GCash has already partnered with Sendwave to help OFWs and their families make the most of their hard-earned money by offering remittances with zero transaction fees and very reasonable exchange rates.

"The pandemic revealed a need to shift towards more digital options for sending money. We wanted to help address that, for the Filipino community and provide them with a more affordable way to send funds to the people they care about," Santos explained.

In response to Covid-19

He added that Sendwave was first launched in the Philippines in September 2021 in response to Covid-19. They estimated that it can save OFWs over $1 billion in remittance fees each year.

"The pandemic was a very unstable time for many overseas Filipino workers, so we wanted to make sure that as much of their money as possible would get to their families, and in the quickest way possible," Santos said.

"Through the Sendwave app, OFWs can securely send money back home directly to a family member's GCash app — without the need to fill out forms, line up, or go out to go to a bank or remittance center," Santos further explained.

Sendwave works through traditional money transfer methods, like bank transfers or cash collection, as well as digital wallets like GCash.

"Digital wallets are the future because they can quickly and affordably link people around the world, especially in areas where people have not had as much access to traditional banks," Santos added.