In remittance transactions, the last mile refers to that outlet where a customer can finally withdraw the cash sent to them by someone, probably from abroad or the metro. We sometimes refer to pawnshops and money changers as last-mile outlets in the local setting. The largest of them all is Cebuana Lhuillier.
With over 2,500 branches in the Philippines, Cebuana Lhuillier is in front of more than 70% of the country’s unbanked population. Recognizing digital transformation as its next big priority, Cebuana’s parent company P.J Lhuillier, is aware of the trend where fintech companies partner with brick-and-mortar remittance outlets to create a digital presence or update their old processes with the times.
SCI Stake Acquisition
Because of that, P.J. Lhuillier acquired a stake in SCI Ventures (Satoshi Citadel Industries) to kickstart this digital transformation. SCI will be crucial in a multi-pronged approach to introduce cutting-edge financial technology to Cebuana Lhuillier’s 4,000 domestic partners and one million combined physical and virtual touchpoints worldwide.
SCI Ventures and Blockchain
SCI, a pioneer Bitcoin and blockchain company in the Philippines, is at the forefront of the rising demand for cryptocurrency and other digital assets. As one of the few companies in the Philippines with a virtual currency license, it is legally allowed by the government to facilitate crypto-to-fiat transactions and vice versa. Data from the country’s Central Bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has revealed that virtual currency transactions have doubled in 2018. If we look further, data from 2017 also revealed increased crypto transactions in the Philippines vs. the previous years. This data came from reports submitted by virtual currency-licensed companies like SCI Ventures.
Low Hanging Fruit
SCI Co-founder Miguel Cuneta welcomed the partnership with the giant financial service provider as a step forward for both companies. “We hopefully will be able to play a role in Cebuana’s move into the digital fintech world, and maybe even explore potential use cases for blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the future,” he said in our exclusive interview.
One Step Towards Blockchain and Crypto Awareness
With the country being one of the biggest recipients of remittances worldwide, Cebuana Lhuillier can benefit from using blockchain to move money. Apart from transfer speed, what’s important here is cost efficiency because with blockchain, there is no need to trust more middlemen companies, and it will allow more partners to use Cebuana as a cashout partner.