Western Union Vs Wise (side note Go tyme)

[craftbeerlover]

I used Western Union forever, and about a year ago I started using both western union and Wise.   After doing multiple comparisons, Wise gives the best return, every single time.  The fee is much higher with Wise, however, the exchange rate more than makes up for it, and gives me more money each time.  Large sums of money, the difference is significant. 

We finally set up a Go Tyme account and the process was really really simple and quick.  I can send directly using Wise, or just transfer using Gcash.   Havent had it long enough to see the interest return, but its 4 percent, which is pretty damn good

[OnMyWay]

I saw another article on the digital banks and BSP when this story came out.  Apparently BSP has not revealed which two of the six are profitable.

Found this ownership interesting:  

Snip:  UNO and Tonik are owned by Singapore-based firms. OFBank, meanwhile, is run by state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. UnionDigital, Maya and GoTyme are respectively owned by Union Bank of the Philippines, the PLDT Group and the Gokongwei Group. 

GoTyme and the Gokongwei Group are linked to Ayala and BPI.

==========================================================================================

ALMOST all digital banks in the Philippines have yet to turn a profit with a moratorium on new licenses set to expire this year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials said.

"I don't think anyone is making money yet," BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. told reporters on Wednesday.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. PHOTO FROM BSP© Provided by The Manila Times

Central bank Director Melchor Plabasan said that of the country's six digital banks, just two appear to be profitable.

He did not identify which banks were already operating in the black but said "the expectation is that it would take around five to seven years before a digital bank becomes profitable."

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"Globally right now, only five percent of digital banks are profitable," he added.

"So, we are expecting that there will be losses, but we don't expect that some will be out of the red already, probably even before the five to seven years."

The BSP, which issued guidelines on the establishment of digital banks in 2020, closed the window on new licenses less than a year later, saying that it wanted to monitor their performance and impact on the financial sector.

Only six licenses were granted, to UNO Digital Bank (UNObank), Tonik Digital Bank, UnionDigital Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), Maya Bank and GoTyme Bank.

UNO and Tonik are owned by Singapore-based firms. OFBank, meanwhile, is run by state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. UnionDigital, Maya and GoTyme are respectively owned by Union Bank of the Philippines, the PLDT Group and the Gokongwei Group.

Related video: BSP, naniniwalang makakatulong ang coin deposit program para paigtingin ang financial and digital... (Dailymotion)

Representatives of the six were not immediately available for comment.

The moratorium on new licenses is scheduled to expire this August and Pablasan said a report on the sector would be submitted in April.

"[P]art of that report is a recommendation on whether to, let's say, is it going to be a partial lifting, is it complete lifting, or is it going to be an extension of the moratorium," he added.

Pablasan said that to date, the six digital banks had collectively amassed around 8.7 million in deposits or approximately 7 percent of the total accounts held by Philippine banks.

Remolona said that while interest in new digital bank licenses remained high, business models would still have to be tested locally.

Last year, he said that the BSP had established a regulatory "sandbox" to minimize risks from financial technology innovations.

"[I]n general, the more significant the innovation, the higher the degree of uncertainty about the regulatory implications for that innovation, especially if it's used by banks or will eventually be used by banks," Remolona said.

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/money/bsp-digital-banks-struggling/ar-BB1jvaas

[craftbeerlover]

15 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Pablasan said that to date, the six digital banks had collectively amassed around 8.7 million in deposits or approximately 7 percent of the total accounts held by Philippine banks.

that cannot be correct???

[OnMyWay]

25 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

that cannot be correct???

That's just your deposit! 😂

Another poorly written article not reviewed.

[craftbeerlover]

12 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

That's just your deposit! 😂

Another poorly written article not reviewed.

But even the author must have realized how ridiculous that amount was.  

[baronapart]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:55 AM, craftbeerlover said:

I used Western Union forever, and about a year ago I started using both western union and Wise.   After doing multiple comparisons, Wise gives the best return, every single time.  The fee is much higher with Wise, however, the exchange rate more than makes up for it, and gives me more money each time.  Large sums of money, the difference is significant. 

We finally set up a Go Tyme account and the process was really really simple and quick.  I can send directly using Wise, or just transfer using Gcash.   Havent had it long enough to see the interest return, but its 4 percent, which is pretty damn good

I have Wise. I'm getting 4.85% apy on my balance. Pretty crazy for an account that I'm just using to send money with. Better than holding it in a US checking account just to send transfers. It has FDIC pass through insurance if you choose to have an interest bearing account.

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, baronapart said:

I have Wise. I'm getting 4.85% apy on my balance. Pretty crazy for an account that I'm just using to send money with. Better than holding it in a US checking account just to send transfers. It has FDIC pass through insurance if you choose to have an interest bearing account.

How does that work?  For instance, could I fund the wise account with say 10k usd from my U.S. bank and just let it sit there, then transfer it back to my U.S. bank, without any fees?

[baronapart]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

How does that work?  For instance, could I fund the wise account with say 10k usd from my U.S. bank and just let it sit there, then transfer it back to my U.S. bank, without any fees?

Yes, you can do that. My money is just sitting there earning interest as I am in the States and I have no reason to send money to the Philippines right now. I have my Navy Federal account attached to it to send money back and forth.  I also have the Wise MasterCard Debit Card attached to the account.  This page shows how deposit insurance works with them. 

https://wise.com/help/articles/2949821/how-wise-keeps-your-money-safe

Edited March 17 by baronapart

[craftbeerlover]

3 hours ago, baronapart said:

Yes, you can do that. My money is just sitting there earning interest as I am in the States and I have no reason to send money to the Philippines right now. I have my Navy Federal account attached to it to send money back and forth.  I also have the Wise MasterCard Debit Card attached to the account.  This page shows how deposit insurance works with them. 

https://wise.com/help/articles/2949821/how-wise-keeps-your-money-safe

thanks for sharing, I never knew this.  Great info to have

[craftbeerlover]

3 hours ago, baronapart said:

Yes, you can do that. My money is just sitting there earning interest as I am in the States and I have no reason to send money to the Philippines right now. I have my Navy Federal account attached to it to send money back and forth.  I also have the Wise MasterCard Debit Card attached to the account.  This page shows how deposit insurance works with them. 

https://wise.com/help/articles/2949821/how-wise-keeps-your-money-safe

hmmmm, here is what I read: 

Keep growing your money with Interest

If you live in the UK or EEA, we give you the opportunity to grow your money — following central bank rates — when you switch it to Interest, through Wise Assets.  

When you switch, your money’s in a fund holding government-guaranteed assets. However, an investment is never guaranteed and it’s possible that the value of your money could decrease, for example if interest rates become negative.