Poste Italiane and PhlPost launch money transfer service
The Philippine Postal Corporation – PhlPost – has launched a new international money transfer service in partnership with Poste Italiane. The new Postepay Twin cards service is the simplest way for Filipinos living and working in Italy to send money home, the company said.
The service makes use of two cards – one used to send money and the other to receive money.
Filipinos can buy a Postepay Twin card kit from any post office in Italy, and then load up their card with funds for a EUR 1 fee, through a real-time top-up system, for onward transfer to the Philippines.
Poste Italiane will carry the PhlPost brand on the prepaid co-branded twin cards, with PhlPost receiving a 45% cut of the reloading fees, regardless which channel is used to recharge the cards.
The service comes on the back of an agreement signed by PhlPost postmaster general Josefina Dela Cruz and Poste Italiane’s CEO Massimo Sarmi at the UPU Congress in Doha back in October.
PhlPost said in a statement: “Postmaster General Josefina Dela Cruz has revealed a change in the business plan of PhlPost, which now involves payments and parcel deliveries besides the traditional mail. A big number of Filipino nationals in Italy will benefit from this service.”
PhlPost said it will now market the service throughout the Filipino community in Italy through promotional events and direct mail.
There were 113,686 documented Filipinos living in Italy in 2008, according to Italy’s statistics office, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.