15 Feb 2024
A report by Pilot Guides stated that the Filipino diaspora is one of the largest worldwide, with over 10 million Filipino migrants constituting about 10% of the country’s total population. A small chunk of these Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) live and work in Italy to earn a living and send money online to Philippines from Italy to their homes to financially support their families back home.
But have you ever considered which online remittance transfer service provider to choose for this purpose, given the mushroom growth of financial institutions offering these services?
Not only is the increasing number of these institutions a challenge for you to choose from, but the rising online scams also leave you susceptible to them.
Because, after all, the matter involves your hard-earned money. Isn’t it?
This blog will, therefore, help you choose the right service provider but first, a look at the benefits you get while working in Italy as a Filipino migrant.
The robust economy of Italy and its expansive and thriving job market are the basic factors that attract Filipino migrants along with others from other countries. They come to Italy to find employment opportunities, and once hired, they get the following benefits.
The first advantage of working in Italy is that the country has no uniform wage structure. It means that different sectors and jobs will offer you different wages, leaving it to you how you negotiate your remuneration package with your employer in Italy.
In Italy, you can also enjoy access to social security and get the benefits after you get the right to reside in Italy. The social security net in Italy will offer you employment benefits, family benefits, healthcare, disability, old age, and much more.
In Italy, the cost of living is lower than in the rest of the countries in Europe. This, coupled with how you negotiate your salary, can benefit you financially to a huge extent. You can make savings and thus add more to the financial aid you send back in every money transfer from Italy to Philippines.
Italy's work environment is flexible and relaxed. Even if you work in the corporate sector in Italy, you will still enjoy a flexible environment. Even your working hours in Italy’s job market are fairly flexible.
Italy is one of the European countries where you will find an excellent work-life balance. There is no bar on you to attend to official matters after your work hours have ended. So, after your office hours, you can enjoy and relax with your friends and family.
Whatever skillset you take with you to Italy, you will find a job in Italy's expansive and thriving job market. You can even be employed as a labourer in Italy and earn a fairly handsome income which depends on your salary negotiating skills.
Now, consider what you must consider when choosing an online money transfer service provider. Remember that sending money online from Italy to the Philippines is a regular activity that incurs costs. Therefore, you might end up paying more than you should if you do not know what to consider while choosing a service provider.
As mentioned earlier, the mushroom growth of online money transfer service providers is pretty confusing for you. Isn’t it? When almost every service provider claims to offer the best online money transfer service, it becomes hard for you to decide.
But the following factors can help you choose the right online money transfer service provider. Before that, you should learn how to budget for your online money transfer to the Philippines from Italy. Now that you have understood the budget process let’s understand the factors to consider when choosing online money transfers.
The fee structure is the first thing to thoroughly check before choosing a money transfer service provider. Where most of you get confused is the hunt for a low fee when you want to make an online money transfer from Italy to Philippines.
This is where you fall prey to paying your service provider more than you should.
Therefore, understand the fee structure of your service provider to avoid overpayment or hidden fees. For example, the fee structure of ACE Money Transfer is completely transparent. You pay the fee as a small percentage of the amount being transferred. Even the fee is applicable only if the amount reaches a certain threshold below which you can enjoy fee-free transfers.
So, check the fee structure instead of the fee itself.
Banks offer you fixed and static currency exchange rates. In contrast, some service providers, including ACE Money Transfer, offer live and market-competitive currency exchange rates.
The fixed exchange rates can be lower than in the international market, which keeps fluctuating. But live exchange rates allow you to get the highest rates if they are available during transfer or wait until they spike in your favor.
Certain service providers offer a normal delivery speed of funds at the normal fee you pay them. They charge you extra for a faster delivery of funds. However, some service providers deliver funds swiftly without charging extra. For example, the delivery time of funds to Pakistan from anywhere is under 7 seconds with ACE Money Transfer without any extra charges.
Another critically important area to check is the transfer options and the operational presence of your chosen service provider. For example, see if you have only one transfer option, like a bank transfer or a credit card, or if you have any other options to transfer funds.
Furthermore, check which countries you can send money to or receive funds from through your chosen service provider. A service provider offering limited options on these two fronts may make you think twice.
One of the critically important areas to check is the security parameters and the company's regulatory compliance. Remember that every service provider has to work under the ambit of a regulatory body in every country.
The credibility of a service provider becomes doubtful if compliance is missing. Furthermore, regulatory compliance also adds to the security of your funds and transactions, which you attach immense importance to.
Every service provider has a customer service center that remains open and functional as employees work in shifts. These customer service representatives help you with your concerns regarding your money transfers.
Furthermore, never forget to check the reputation of the concerned service provider. Visiting their official website and reading comments can reveal much about them.
Trying to find a cost-effective money transfer service provider is not enough if you are trying to send money to Philippines from Italy. Always make sure to choose a service provider that offers you all the benefits listed above. For a unique online money transfer experience, however, choosing ACE Money Transfer is a decision you will always be proud of as the firm offers you all the listed benefits from just one stop with optimal safety and convenience.
The people of the Philippines travel to developed countries, including Italy, hoping to find sustainable jobs that they cannot find in their native country. It leads to unemployment and poverty, so they travel abroad for work.
Working in Italy can benefit you in several ways, such as social security benefits, absence of uniform wages, leaving it to you to negotiate your wages and salary, low cost of living, multiple employment opportunities, great work-life balance, and flexible working hours and conditions.
Exercising extreme care in choosing an online money transfer service provider is critically important because the mushroom growth of these companies has led to the birth of unscrupulous companies. They can fleece you in the name of offering online money transfer services.
If you do not exercise care in the process, the chances are high that you will fall victim to an unscrupulous element in the industry or might end up paying more than you should in terms of fees and service charges.
Always check the fee structure instead of the fee alone, currency exchange rates, speed, efficiency, convenience, transfer options and destination coverage, customer care service and reputation, security parameters and regulatory compliance.
