E-commerce and fintech start-up Ventaja International Corp. launched PayRemit, a payment gateway and mobile app to assist Filipino migrant workers on their purchases with flexible payment options.
The company was encouraged to set-up a virtual shopping site dedicated to overseas Filipino workers, after the overwhelming response from loyal clients of the company’s prior business offerings.
It expanded the payment collection business into a virtual shopping platform, a leap from when it was only bridging payments for goods and services purchased from companies like Cebu Pacific and Goldilocks Bakeshop. Back in 2004, Ventaja started out by selling mobile phone loads to OFWs.
“The idea of doing an online shopping site was not what we were thinking back then. You see our roots are in the payments. We collect for SSS and Pag-Ibig to name a few. PayRemit evolved in response to what the market was asking,” said Ventaja and PayRemit chief executive Vincent Grey.
Like most business in 2020, PayRemit was not spared from the global crisis that hit many countries. Grey said remittances went down and the government issued moratorium on collections. Ventaja, then, focused on managing its loan portfolio to keep the “ship afloat”, Grey said.
“We weren't growing but we were still serving. There were still orders coming in and we served them towards December. Now, we are doing five times more this month and we expect to do 5 times more than what we did in December [2020]. What we did was we prepared to grow fast. And now, we’re at this stage of growing fast. We’re also overwhelmed by the rate we are growing, but like I said we have prepared for this and we are ready to work with our kababayans and assist them in the shopping adventure,” he said.
PayRemit is processing about 500 transactions monthly and expects to sustain the momentum in the next few months. It hopes to achieve peak sales during the holiday season when many of overseas workers celebrate the season through shopping and gifting.
Being a mobile app, PayRemit is ubiquitous. It has presence in 36 territories across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The UAE is PayRemits biggest market so far. In the Philippines, PayRemit is available Luzon-wide and in selected areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.
PayRemit is a well-stocked marketplace that offers curated and select consumer durables to customers. It teamed up with local suppliers such as Abenson, Royal Star Appliances and K Servico.
Anton Almonte, PayRemit marketing manager, said the virtual shop allows OFW customers to shop online and pay on flexible instalment terms from three to eight months before interest. The app charges 5-percent interest per transaction.
“Surprisingly, by the grace of God, our numbers are really growing. Maybe one way of looking at it, is that there are plenty of those who were also impacted by the pandemic. Many have encountered pay cuts. These people cannot afford to purchase good at one go. That's why they see PayRemit as a solution, more than ever, to their purchases woes. Now, they can still purchase their dream appliances back home through instalments,” Almonted said.
“Since our customers are primarily OFWS or migrant workers, we have devised several ways in reaching out to our customers. They can reach out to PayRemit through our partner remittance counters, all over the world where pyramid is present. They can reach us through our PayRemit official Facebook page. They can send a message anytime, and we’re more than happy to accommodate their queries,” he said.
While many start-up companies rely on angel financing, getting the funds to fire-up PayRemit did not pose as a problem to Ventaja.
“We’re just fortunate that we don’t have to rely on external funding to support PayRemit. We used our cash flows from our existing businesses- from our telecoms business and collections businesses to help fund the development of PayRemit,” Grey said.
Ventaja is a licensed remittance company with paid-up capital of P50 million and continues to be an operator of payment systems. In diversifying its financial management capabilities, the company has a pending application for an electronic money issuer license that requires P100 million in paid -up capital.
“We see it as a preferred e-commerce and fintech platform for OFWs. So we will continue to provide services for what they need. Is it shopping? You want to pay bills? We'll do it for you. You want to send money sure we can do that as well,” Grey said.
Payremit listens to the market and delivers the same benefits as credit cards when shopping on the PayRemit App. It goes the extra mile by making it easy for OFWs to buy using concierge services.
Customers can message PayRemit on FB and someone will help them throughout the entire process. In addition, PayRemit has sales agents–fellow OFWs and satisfied PayRemit customers–who can help their fellow OFWs shop.
Aside from the personal touch, what sets PayRemit apart is the capability to collect cash payments from OFWs. No other e-commerce site can do this, said Grey.
“When we finally got the business model right, it became clear that we were making a huge difference in the lives of our customers, sales agents, and their families. The photos they share with us are testament to this,” he said.
The PayRemit app is available on Google Play and soon on the App Store.