A few taps on the phone is all it takes for Cherry Anne to send money needed by her family. In a few seconds, the money is transferred to her daughter's phone through G-Cash, and the service is free.
Big help for OFWs
Cherry Anne Z. had to work on her day off because her employer had visitors that day, when her phone rang. It was her eldest daughter, saying her youngest daughter had fallen off a bicycle and broke an arm. They were in a clinic and her daughter was asking for money to pay for the treatment. In their area, there was no remittance center; even if she wanted to, it would take hours to reach Central, and by then the remittance center would have been closed.
Vickie N., on the other hand, had just reached the beach gathering of her group in Repulse Bay when her husband called. He needed P10,000 to buy seeds and other inputs to plant their half-hectare land with tomatoes to take advantage of the season. If she left for Central to remit, she would lose a day of relaxation that she deserved. If she stayed to enjoy her day off, the remittance center would have been closed by the time she reached Central, and may only be able to remit one week later.
Fortunately, both Cherry Anne and Vickie had AlipayHK.
They did not have to go out of their way to send money home, unlike many who had to go to Central, spend hours lining up at remittance centers and fill up forms every time they remit -- not to mention commuting to and from their employers’ homes.
With AlipayHK, there is no need to brave the crowds in Central just to remit money to one's family.
In their case, it was so easy and quick: All they had to do was take out their phones, open their AlipayHK app, and, with a few taps on the screen, do what others spend half a day to be able to meet the financial needs of their families.
AlipayHK is like a wallet that resides in one’s phone, but made intelligent by modern technology.
For example, Cherry Anne’s daughter received the money in seconds because she sent it through AlipayHK’s Philippine partner, G-Cash. The foreign exchange rate was better than in some remittance centers, and her remittance was free.
Vickie, on the other hand, paid $15 for her remittance because it was sent to her husband’s bank account in their town in Pangasinan. She does not mind paying, because she gets more money back from AlipayHK by convincing her friends to use it, too.
Besides, the remittance charge was lower than what she would have paid had she gone to Central, lined up at the bank’s office, and spent hours commuting from her employer’s house in Sai Kung.
Vickie’s money arrived the next day. She knows that for the same fee, the money would have been available in 15 minutes if the remittance went through Cebuana or Palawan. However, the bank was more convenient for her husband because it was just across their house.
The two OFWs are among the 2.7 million people in Hong Kong who have been using AlipayHK not just to remit money to their families but also to pay for day-to-day transactions, like buying things at convenience stores like 7-Eleven of Circle-K, and at many other establishments.
AlipayHK is the first e-wallet accepted at MTR and other modes of public transportation.
AlipayHK’s EasyGo feature also enables them to pay for their fares on MTR, buses, minibuses and ferries. In fact, Vickie used AlipayHK to pay for her ride to the beach. Like any new user, she got an $8 EasyGo Experience Reward for the 1st time she used EasyGo. Plus, she got a list of merchant coupons after using EasyGo to buy things at convenience stores like $3 off upon purchase of Chicken Leg and discounted price of $3 for Vita No Sugar Tea 500ml (Original Price: $8) at Circle-K etc.
Meanwhile, as she refers her friends, Vickie gets a $5 remittance coupon for each successful EasyGo referral and can earn up to $5,000 in remittance coupons!
In fact, the more they use AlipayHK, the more rewards they earn in the form of merchant coupons that can be used to get discounts from participating stores, and AlipayHK e-stamps worth up to $272 that can be accumulated to redeem various products this month.
Through AlipayHK, OFWs can even receive their salaries even if their employers themselves do not use AlipayHK; they can transfer money directly from their bank accounts via Faster Payment System (FPS).
Visit AlipayHK to learn more about the remittance service and EasyGo offers: https://www.alipayhk.com/en/remittance/