Filipinos residing in Korea can conveniently and swiftly remit money back to the Philippines after financial superapp GCash facilitated a partnership with E9pay, a leading provider of cross-border money transfer service.

With the seamless integration between the two Asian fintech giants, Filipino expats living in Korea can now send money to their loved ones' GCash wallets using the E9Pay app.

The process is entirely digital, offering unprecedented speed and convenience. Unlike traditional methods, it eliminates the need for physical bank visits or tedious paperwork.

All that's required is the recipient's phone number, making cross-border transactions faster and simpler than ever before.

“This partnership with E9Pay ensures that we will continue to serve Filipinos wherever they are in the world,” GCash International general manager Paul Albano said.

“This is also a big boost to the cultural and economic ties between the Philippines and Korea with monthly transactions seen growing substantially as we open the service to the over 60,000 Filipinos in Korea and over 94 million people who have tried using GCash in the Philippines,” he added.

Meanwhile, E9pay CEO Jun Goo Hyok affirmed that significant transaction growth in this service area is expected as the timely partnership with GCash coincides with the Korean government’s aggressive plan to “bring in more health care and housekeeping workers from the Philippines.”

Expansion eyed

Responding to this increased engagement between South Korea and the Philippines, two companies plan to expand their remittance services in the future.

The expansion aims to facilitate smoother financial transactions between the two countries, catering to various needs, including tourist payments and medical expenses in South Korea.

In 2022, South Korea's foreign resident population reached 2.25 million, marking a 14.8 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from its Ministry of Justice.

Notably, Filipinos constituted around 60,000 of this population, ranking 6th among all nationalities. Moreover, there has been a remarkable surge in Filipino tourism to South Korea, with visitor numbers jumping from 116,000 in 2021 to 308,000 by November 2023, representing a significant increase of 165.5 percent.

GCash has been actively expanding its global presence to serve Filipinos worldwide.

Aside from providing direct and convenient remittance services for Filipinos residing in South Korea, GCash users visiting the country can also utilize the app to make payments by scanning local QR codes or using their GCash Visa Card.