Coins.ph users may now convert Bitcoin into cash using ATMs in the Philippines

Philippine startup Coins.ph has launched a new service that will further encourage overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to send money to their loved ones using Bitcoin.

Withdrawal through 450 ATMs of partner bank Security Bank – without the use of an ATM card – is now an option for Coins.ph users.

The company has taken steps early on to bring value to remitters. It launched a wallet that allows OFWs to send money at lower costs than banks or money transfer firms like Western Union.

But hurdles remain for the recipients back home – remittances can be cashed out through bank deposits, which requires recipients to have accounts; or delivered door-to-door and picked up at partner locations, which take time. The ATM service “is possibly the most convenient way to cash out Bitcoin anywhere in the world,” says Ron Hose, Coins.ph founder and CEO.

Users may select the “egivecash” option in sending any amount between PHP500 (US$11.20) and PHP10,000 (US$224) to relatives and friends. Recipients can just go to a nearby partner ATM to cash out the remittance. Instead of inserting a physical card, they simply input the egivecash number received via SMS, the passcode received via email, and the payout amount. The ATM will then dispense the cash and automatically inform the sender that the transaction has been completed.

Bitcoin has now become more competitive with traditional remittance services. OFWs send home about US$24 billion in remittances each year, and pay eight percent of this amount in fees. Remitting using Bitcoin takes away these fees (if done through your digital wallet) or significantly lowers them (if through Bitcoin remittance firms). Coins.ph’s new service, in the meantime, essentially turns ATMs into Bitcoin cash terminals. Bitcoin adoption in the Philippines is still in its nascent stages – there are only a few startups that allow for exchange of Bitcoin into fiat money. Convenience is always a concern.

“Our priority has always been about offering convenience and equal opportunity,” Hose emphasizes. “We believe that everyone deserves access to financial services and should have the option to use their money to their desire, without having to endure high fees and prerequisites.”

See: Bitcoin remittances to the Philippines have gone up. Here’s why

For the unbanked

The new service is thus a way to extend financial services to unbanked Filipino families.

Hose says the savings rate in the Philippines is among the lowest in the world. Many poor families still don’t own bank accounts. When an emergency arises, getting cash quickly to the hands of relatives is very important.

“Often, when we speak with overseas workers who are sending money back home with Coins.ph, they are doing so because of an emergency – disaster recovery after a typhoon, a family member who is hospitalized, paying for medication, due bills, tuition, etc. Through our work with OFWs, it became clear that we need to give them a faster option to receive funds.”

He says they are working on getting more bank partners to enable withdrawal from more ATMs nationwide. The process is “tedious” though, since ATM networks only cover card-based transactions. “Each integration can take upwards of six months, and there are various technical and other requirements that need to be addressed.”