Receiving money from almost anywhere in the world has gotten more convenient for Filipinos as global money transfer firm Western Union and BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) have expanded their remittance collaboration, which involves the offering of Cash Pick-up of Western Union money transfers at more than 1,100 BDO branches nationwide.

Western Union and BDO initially launched a credit to account service in 2015 allowing remitters to send money straight to BDO accounts from over 70 countries via www.westernunion.com and through Western Union agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. With the expanded collaboration, customers who do not have a BDO account yet may conveniently claim Western Union remittances at BDO and its rural bank subsidiary – BDO Network Bank, which has over 130 branches in countryside Mindanao and the Visayas, and now, continuously expanding across Luzon.

BDO’s presence inside SM Supermalls allows customers to claim Western Union remittances more conveniently as the branches are open up to 7PM including weekends and selected holidays.This serves as a one-top-shop for customers as they may claim remittances and purchase their basic needs, in just one go.

“Our extended collaboration with Western Union is proof of our continuous commitment to make remittances from almost any part of the globe convenient to receive. Western Union has helped us in bridging not only Filipino workers from different parts of the world but also other global senders and their remittance beneficiaries in the Philippines, who can rely on us through our accessible and convenient Cash Pick-up locations. The Western Union-BDO collaboration delivers a kind of service that is reliable given the two institutions’ credibility and trust they’ve both earned through the years”, said Genie Gloria, SVP and Head of BDO Remittance.

“At Western Union, we connect families near and far away and help them move money across borders and currencies. We are excited to extend our service offering with BDO Unibank by building on our strengths to expand our network even further, providing a high-level customer experience,” said Sohini Rajola, Head of Network, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, Western Union.

The Western Union-BDO alliance complements the Philippines’ ranking as the worlds’ fourth largest receiver of remittance in 2018, according to a World Bank report. For its part, BDO remains the leader in OF remittances and said leadership was solidified by a recent award from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as the “Commercial Bank that Generated the Largest Overseas Filipino Remittances” for 2018, a citation that the bank has consistently received since 2008.