A new remittance system that will allow for a safer, faster and cheaper remittances by OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) will be implemented by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) starting on the third quarter of the year.

This is the new Philippine Payments and Settlements System or Philpass Remit System. Under this new system, the fee will be reduced to P50 per remittance transaction, resulting to savings of P100 to P500, as the current system charges ranges from P150 to P550.

BSP said the Philpass Remit System ensures safer, faster and cheaper means of remittance transaction.

The system involves the use of the BSP-Philpass as the local clearinghouse for the transfer of remittances from a local bank to another bank where the OFW beneficiary maintains an account.

This project was undertaken jointly by the BSP with the Association of Bank Remittance Officers Inc. (ABROI) through a memorandum of agreement signed last December.

The scheduled implementation of the project was supposed in the first quarter of the year, however, only one bank was able to migrate to the new system since the MOA was signed.

The central bank said they will need to wait for the other member banks to resolve their issues on hardware and system connectivity, so they can finally migrate before the new remittance system will be fully operational.

RCBC Bankard recently launched a new credit card which is targeted to serve the upscale needs of discerning shoppers.

The new credit card from RCBC was created in tie-up with Barcelona-based clothing brand Mango and Mastercard. Called the Mango-RCBC Bankard MasterCard, it is the latest addition to MasterCard’s growing roster of value-driven cards.

Holders of Mango-RCBC Bankard MasterCard could avail of of exclusive members-only sale from Mango, one of Europe’s multinational brands renowned globally for designing, manufacturing and marketing stylish women’s and men’s clothing accessories. They would also have priority access to next season’s catalog features and first hand advice on the latest offers.

Aside from those, cardholders are also included in a rewards program that enables them to earn reward points that can be exchanged for Mango items.

And being a MasterCard, it can be used in over 200 countries worldwide, including of course, in any of the 1,223 Mango stores located in 92 countries around the world.

Oscar Biason, president and CEO of RCBC Bankard said, “Most women nowadays are decision-makers who live multi-functional roles. As such, they have disposable incomes that let them spend on their priorities, one of which is shopping for nice clothes. With the launch of Mango-RCBC Bankard MasterCard, we help empower a lot of women by giving them more choices to indulge their flair for fashion, thanks to the many privileges and perks that the card offers.”

RCBC Bankard is one of the leading credit card issuers known for delivering innovative products of the best value and quality supported by superb service.

First Gas Power Corp. is planning to borrow $80 million from local banks, and the Lopez-controlled is seeking the approval of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to borrow the said amount, which was said to be higher that what was being considered earlier by the company, which was only $50 million.

The company is the one who owns and operates the 1,000-megawatt Santa Rita combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant in Batangas.

The Santa Rita power plant, according to the company’s website, uses natural gas from the Malampaya Gas Field in offshore Northwest Palawan.

The BSP, last week, approved the Philippine National Oil Corp. – Exploration Corp.’s own foreign currency deposit unit (FCDU) loan worth $9 million. The agency said that last year, total FCDU loans decreased by almost nine percent at $4.95 billion compared to what was reported in 2008.

If the basis would be the borrower type, private loans were lower last year at $3.182 billion compared to the $5.334 billion in 2008. Private FCDU loans are mainly availed by public utilities and exporters. Residents accounted for 69 percent total loan portfolio.

After securing a license to operate in Europe, iRemit made true to its commitment of servicing overseas Filipino worker (OFWs) staying in the region with iRemit Europe.

Now, still the largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance company, iRemit wants to strengthen its presence in Europe as it plans to open more branches in major cities in the region.

iRemit will be opening more branches in Europe, namely in Milan, Florence, Padua, Plato, Venice, Genoa and Naples, as stated in the company’s disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Aside from those mentioned, iRemit president and chief operating officer Harris Jacildo said the also plans to open branches in France and Switzerland to tap and provide service to the the fast-growing European OFW market.

“This ambitious plan to open branches in the region simultaneously and aggressively pursue opportunities in other territories is a very strategic move that characterizes iRemit as an industry trailblazer,” Jacildo said.

And as Bansan Choa, chairman and chief executive officer of iRemit, the company deemed its high time to move into “previously unchartered territories” to take advantage of opportunities to expand the business and extend its target market to include more Filipinos and other nationals.

iRemit was founded in 2001, and to date still remains to be the largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance company in the Philippines. It has already established presences in 27 countries in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East with more than 5,000 payout partners nationwide.

The auction of the retail treasury bonds of the Philippine government has been completed and according to National Treasurer Roberto Tan, $500 million have been raise from the sale of the retail, multi-currency bond.

Tan was happy to report that they completed the total tender of $5000 million, based on the preliminary information he had received. These RTBs were sold to small investors and institutional buyers as well.

Before conducting the auction, Tan and his group composed of officials from the government and issue underwriters went to different countries and conducted “financial literacy seminars” for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and discussed with them the benefits of investing the said retail bonds. Tan said they were received warmly during those seminars by OFWs from the United States, Europe and some parts of Asia.

Manila scrapped Tuesday’s sale of P8.5 billion ($192 million) worth of 5-year bonds following the retail bond issue. Tan said there were no plans to cancel more Treasure debt auctions after the bond offer.

According to the preliminary reports received by Tan, the government was able to raise nearly $350 million from an auction of the foreign currency bonds on April 21. The rest were sold during the public offer which ended on Tuesday.

$200 million worth of 3-year US dollar bonds were sold at a coupon rate of 2.875% at an auction on April 21. The government also sold 5-year US dollar bonds at a coupon rate of 4.125% to raise $98 million.

Meanwhile, Manila also auctioned 5-year and 3-year Euro bonds worth $4 million Euros and 35 million Euros, respectively.

After its continued rally last week, where it breaks into the P44 mark, economists say that peso is seen to weaken anew, adding that it would be seen retreating back to P46-to-$1 at the height of the local and national elections.

Having a pause from its seven-day rally against the dollar last Thursday, the local currency ended 15 centavos weaker at P44.95 per $1 from Wednesday’s P44.80 per $1 finish.

However, traders noted this weakening as a “correction of the peso” after enjoying seven straight days of gains. Marcelo E. Ayes, senior vice-president of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said, “The correction was expected. Technically, the peso was due for a correction”

He even added that the decline was a little tame, as he was expecting the peso to hit P45.10 to P45.20.

Meanwhile Tim Condon of the Netherlands-based investment bank ING said the local currency is likely to retrace the 46 level after appreciating on the back of  of benign inflation and within ceiling budget deficit figures.

“We expect the US dollar to Philippine peso to retrace above P46 to $1 as the political risk intensifies around the May general election,” he stressed.

By December of this year, we could be having new designs on our peso bills. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would begin circulating by December the new peso bills, while coins will follow suit after two years.

According to the BSP, aside from having new designs, the new bills and coins will also have new security features which would make it easier to detect counterfeit money.

BSP in its primer said, “As a matter of practice, central banks regularly change the designs of their money – whether coins or banknotes – to guard against counterfeiter. By making it very difficult and costly for counterfeiters to produce exact copies of our money, we protect the integrity of our currency against criminals.”

The peso bills, from the 20-peso to the 1,000-peso, and coins from the one-centavo to the 10-peso, are all up for a facelift. Once the new designs have begun circulating, BSP said the existing peso bills would remain valid and legal tender in the next three years, after which they will be phased out.

“Based on previous currency retirement or demonization program of the BSP, this will give enough time for the public to make a full transition to our new generation currency,” BSP said, adding that there would be a separate schedule for the coins.

The new bills will feature historically important Filipinos, heritage sites and natural wonders. Among the revision in the design is the inclusion of the image of the late former President Corazon C. Aquino in the P500 bill, which already features husband Benigno Aquino, Jr.

The coins will be having national symbols in the new design.

Now, here’s a good suggestion. Presidential aspirant Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. wanted bets bank accounts bared.

The Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer said that the bank secrecy law should be lifted or at least be reviewed to help unmask the financial activities of politicians who are suspected to have links to the illegal drug trade.

Gibo was reacting to the report of the US State Department that some candidates in the coming national elections are receiving funding from drug syndicates. “That situation is very dangerous as drug syndicates can easily help a candidate win through their money,” he said.

The bank secrecy laws were meant to protect the privacy of good individuals, Gibo said. Unfortunately, the same law also provided a blanket for drug lords and corrupt government officials.

The bank secrecy law, Republic Act 1405, was passed in 1955 and sought to encourage people to deposit their money in a bank and discourage hoarding, which was a common practice during the Japanese occupation.

The law states that all deposits with banks and banking institutions are considered to be “absolutely confidential” and “may not be inquired or looked into by any person, subject to some exceptions.”

Through the years, exceptions and amendments were added to the bank secrecy law.

The Asian Development Bank is making funds available to Philippine traders via its $1-billion regional facility. To help traders get access to this fund, the ADB signed a trade finance agreement with five banks – Development Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and Allied Banking Corp.

The country’s first trade finance agreements was created to provide support to Philippine companies engaged in international trade. The title of the credit facility is ADB’s Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP).

ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Director General Philip Erquiaga believes that by providing small and medium sized companies, especially those in the manufacturing sector, they will be able to expand and employ more workers, thereby help in the alleviation of poverty in the country.

The program also helps link banks and companies in developing economies with their counterparts in other developing and developed economies. This would build relationships and spur job-creating business opportunites and knowledge sharing that will help banks and their clients on longer term.

Peso closed at its highest for the last 15 months. Last Fridays dealing ended with the Philippine peso at a level of P46 to $1, in a 15-month record high attributed specifically to the influx of remittances for overseas Filipino workers.

Not surprisingly, because of the holiday season, we can expect more Filipinos overseas to send money to their love ones here in the country. Also, the financial assistance pouring in from kababayans abroad for the victims of recent typhoon, adding in to the volume of transactions.

The volume of transacted dollars ballooned from Thursday’s $633.36 million to $1 billion on Friday.

With the holiday season still far from over, we can expect more remittances from OFWs and hopefully this could push further the appreciation of our peso.