Unionbank Visa: Asia’s first Visa Debit card fund transfer service

Unionbank of the Philippines, the Philippine’s leading universal bank, aims to extend the Holiday cheers this 2013 by doing away with all the transatlantic obstructions drama in terms of financial services. Unionbank, as it is more commonly called, with its track record of providing novel banking & financial products and services, has once again spearheaded an ingenious financial service: the VISA MONEY TRANSFER/ VISA PERSONAL PAYMENT REMMITTANCE SERVICE – Asia’s very first direct Visa Debit card fund transfer.

Similar to the avant-garde EON card, the Visa Money Transfer Fast Funds/Visa personal payment remittance service is a financial service which allows immediate cross-country fund transfer to any UnionBank Visa Debit or Prepaid Card Account from abroad. This Personal Payment technology eliminates all the pointless procedures that consume time and effort. With just a few easy steps, sender is able to remit money instantly to his or her loved ones here. And because the remittance goes straight to the UnionBank Visa Debit Card holder’s account, receiver is able to enjoy the funds on real-time basis.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
With its safe, fast, and easy real-time credit of funds system, client can benefit from the VISA MONEY TRANSFER in less than 5 simple steps.
1. Sender visits any UAE Exchange branch (currently available in UAE only), one of the largest currency and remittance center in the Middle East and Asia.
2. Sender expresses the intention to transfer fund using the Visa Money Transfer (VMT) facility.
3. Sender provides the Beneficiary’s unique 16-digit UnionBank Debit Card number.
4. Sender pays the the corresponding remittance charge and turn over the funds.

The Visa Money Transfer is also distinctive from all the other remittance centers because the beneficiary is able to receive the fund in a matter of minutes from the time it was remitted. Compare to the traditional bank remittance service that requires a few days for processing or other remittance center that experiences a few hours lag, The Visa Money Transfer spells U-L-T-R-A-F-A-S-T. Whats more, a registered UnionBank cardholder will receive a SMS message immediately notifying him or her of the available credits. Talk about remittance service that offers safety, convenience and ultra-fast real-time basis.

THE REAL DEAL
The Visa Money Transfer, also called the Visa Personal Payments, is the brainchild of both UnionBank and Visa. In its product release mid last year, Iain Jamieson, Country Manager, Philippines and Guam, Visa, said: “Adding a remittance feature to Visa cards makes a lot sense as the Philippines is one of the world’s most sophisticated remittance markets.” He furthered “It is fitting that our first rollout of this service in Asia is in the Philippines, and is further proof of Visa’s ability to deliver world-class products and services to its customers here, in partnership with innovative banks like UnionBank.”
It is therefore, not by sheer coincidence that Philippines is the first country to offer such kind of service and technology.

But like any astute consumer, one has to ask “Whats the real deal?” and “How does it lord over the other remittance center?” The Visa Money Transfer offers not just one but several benefits and advantages. Because the Visa Money Transfer does away with all the redundant procedures, client benefits by saving time and effort. The client does not need to go through the irritating process of filling out forms and documents and showing proper identificaiton. The receiver also saves time and effort. He or she is no longer required to travel to the branch to get the remittance which also means no need to carry the cash all the way from the office to your home.

Another distinct advantage of the Visa Money Transfer is the ease of consumption. Since funds are directly deposited to the UnionBank Visa Debit Card, receiver can enjoy the instant access and shop right away in any visa accredited establishments. Receiver can also withdraw cash from more than 1.8 millions ATMs in the Philippines and around the world.

MORE SURPRISES TO COME
UnionBank, being a leader in innovation and globalization, promises to improve all of its products and services, including the Visa Money Transfer (by michael at tforge). At its launch, the Visa Money Transer is available in UAE territory but will soon include other countries. The company also plans to expand the cards available for receiving remittances as the service is currently limited on EON, E-wallet and ePayCard.

Finally, UnionBank is holding a promo right now that offers a free additional P500 Remittance Cash Credits for existing users. The promo is open to all UnionBank Visa Debit Cardholders who are subscribers of the Visa Money Transfer service. Qualified Cardholders can get as much as PHP 500 free additional cash credits from every transaction of any amount they received from October 25 to January 31, 2013. The Free PHP 500 Cash Credits will be credited to the account of the qualifed cardholder within 3 banking days from the date of transaction.

UPDATE: The Uniobank Visa Promo is extended up to March 2013.