Pouch.ph, the lightning payment operator in the Philippines, introduced the “Send Globally” feature to facilitate instant, low-cost, and safe money transfers to bank accounts in the United States
Pouch.ph, the Bitcoin Lightning network-based payment operator in the Philippines, on Tuesday announced that its customers, including expats in the Philippines, now can send Philippine pesos to the United States via the “Send Globally” feature.
To send funds to the US, customers in the Philippines don’t need to go to a physical bank branch. They can use pouch.ph app instead. The recipients will get their money transfers in USD. Currently, remittance limits are set between $1-$1,000. In the near future, the company plans to increase this limit.
“Send Globally” transactions are expected to take up to three days, instead of weeks, with advertised “decreased risk of payment delays due to intermediaries, and competitive rates.”
Founded in 2021, Pouch.ph has created a lightning wallet for Filipinos to have access to faster, cheaper, and more globally connected digital payments.
The United States is a host to a big number of expats from the Philippines. Although there is no official number given, it is estimated that about 8.9% of the total 1.83 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) live in North and South America.
Besides, the Philippines is also a popular destination for US expats looking for a new home. Both the US and the Philippines are on the lists of the top 5 remittance senders/receivers globally.
Bitcoin Lightning network is a technical solution developed as a “Layer 2” protocol of blockchain networks. LN uses advanced smart contracts to achieve higher transaction bandwidth, enabling the peer-to-peer nature of the Bitcoin protocol. It enables instant micropayments with lower (compared to ordinary transactions) commissions/fees. This way, the network boosts financial inclusion and the efficiency of cross-border payments.
Although the payment network is based on blockchain, the users themselves don’t have to deal with crypto, sending familiar local fiat currencies.
In March 2023, Block’s TBD division launched C= to improve Bitcoin Lightning Network, aiming to expand the reach of the Network through added liquidity and routing services.
