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Registered as Kabayan Capital Limited in 2012 in the UK and trading as Kabayan Remit, the provider supports both online and telephone transfers.
Online transfers can be initiated on the website or through the Kabayan Remit app. To simplify the process of sending money abroad even further, senders can pay for their transfers using a debit card or bank account transfer (Sofort banking). Beneficiaries can get the funds delivered in the form of cash pickups, door-to-door deliveries, GCash and PayMaya virtual wallets, or as direct deposits into their bank accounts.
To enhance its sending and disbursing networks, Kabayan Remit has partnered with reputable financial institutions including Land Bank of the Philippines, BDO Unibank, the Philippine National Bank, China Bank, Metro Bank plc, Security Bank, Allied Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands. This gives it a good network of financial partners to support its services.
Kabayan Remit Exchange Rates and Fees
Much like most international money transfer companies, Kabayan Remit charges a small margin above the mid-market rate, along with a transfer fee that varies depending on the transfer payment and payout methods you choose. Here's what to expect when making your transfer.
Exchange Rates
The provider updates its British pound sterling (GBP) to Philippine peso (PHP) rates daily on its Twitter handle and Facebook page. The exchange rate margin that Kabayan Remit adds above the interbank rate is 0.81%. You can also see their rates displayed on their website and app.
Fees
Transfer fees start from £2.99 and the first transfer you make is free. The fees you pay will vary depending on your payment method and how the beneficiary receives the funds.
Debit card: If you pay for your transfer using a debit card, fees start from £3.99 for bank deposits and £4.99 for cash collection.
Online bank transfer: If you pay using bank transfer, the minimum fees you’ll be charged are £2.99 for direct bank deposit and £3.99 for cash collection.
Additional Costs
Depending on your issuing bank and card network (e.g. Visa or Mastercard), you may be charged some fees such as interchange fees. Also, transfers channelled through the SWIFT network come with an inward SWIFT charge deducted from the amount transferred, so it is important to check with your bank before making a transfer.
Kabayan Remit Pros and Cons
Kabayan Remit is dedicated to offering innovative international money transfer solutions for the Filipino community in the United Kingdom. With competitive rates and a dynamic fee structure, the provider continues to appeal to a growing customer base. Here’s what to expect when using the platform.
- Transparent rates and fees – Kabayan Remit displays the rates and fees it charges on its website-based transfer widget, mobile app, and social media. Knowing what the recipient will get and how much you’ll pay in fees helps in transfer planning.
- Flexible payout options – You can choose to have the funds deposited directly into the beneficiary’s bank account, sent to a cash collection point, delivered to their GCash or PayMaya virtual wallets or delivered at their doorstep.
- Competitive exchange rates – The 0.81% exchange rate margin is among the best you can get in the market. Banks charge upwards of 4% while other online money transfer services often charge margins in the range of 1.5-2%.
- Bilingual Support – The provider has a support team that speak fluent Filipino and English. This makes it easy and fast to be assisted.
- Mobile app – You can send money on the go using the Kabayan Remit mobile app available as a free download on both Play Store and App Store.
- Limited coverage – The provider specialises in only two countries: the United Kingdom being the sending country and the Philippines the receiving country.
- Lower Transfer Limits – You can only transfer up to £3,000 per transaction and up to £7,000 per month. Large transfers have to be split into several months.
- Limited payment options – You can only pay for your transfer using a personal debit card or bank transfer. The provider doesn’t accept credit cards, prepaid cards or business debit cards.
What Kind of Payments Can I Make With Kabayan Remit?
Kabayan Remit offers its customers two options when paying for their transfers and an impressive number of payout methods. Below is a summary of the payment and withdrawal methods they offer.
Payment Methods Available
You can pay for your transfer on Kabayan Remit using either of the following methods:
Debit Card: The provider accepts UK personal debit cards only. Prepaid cards, credit cards, and business debit cards are not accepted on Kabayan Remit. As of 1st September 2016, debit cards can only pay for transfers of up to £999. Any transfer amount exceeding this figure should be paid using bank transfer.
Bank Transfer: You can transfer money from your bank to the designated Kabayan Remit bank account to pay for your transfer.
Withdrawal Options Available
You can choose any of the transfer delivery methods below depending on the cost, speed, and convenience required by your recipient.
Credit to Account: The transfer is credited directly to the beneficiary’s bank account. Currently, the provider has a total of 28 banks you can send to in the Philippines.
Cash Collection: Your recipient can collect the transfer in cash from any of the following pickup partners: LBC Express, Metrobank, Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhuillier, and M Lhuillier Financial Services. In total there are over 10,000 cash pickup locations in the Philippines for transfers made with Kabayan Remit.
Door-to-door Delivery: The provider can deliver transfers to your recipient’s doorstep in Metro Manila and the following ‘out-of-service’ areas: Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, La Union, Laguna, Ilocos Sur/Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, and Batangas (except for Ibaan, Lobo and Laurel).
Virtual Wallets: You can send money to your recipient through GCash or PayMaya virtual wallets. However, your recipient must be registered with the respective service providers: Globe or TM for GCash, and Smart or Talk ‘n Text for PayMaya.
How to Send and Receive Money With Kabayan Remit
Kabayan Remit is a highly specialised platform that is simple to use when sending money to your family and friends in the Philippines. Here are the processes involved when making your transfer.
How to Send Money With Kabayan Remit
Sign Up for an Account
Select Beneficiary
Choose the Transfer Type
Add Your Transfer Details
Choose How You Want to Pay
Amount to Send
Transfer Confirmation
Pay for Your Transfer
You can always check the status of your transfer from the Kabayan Remit’s dashboard.
How to Receive Money With Kabayan Remit
How your recipient receives the funds depends on the transfer payout method you choose. For virtual wallets and direct bank deposits, your recipient gets the money without having to provide any documentation unless making a withdrawal.
Cash collection and home delivery require that the recipient provides proof of ID and a transaction reference, which they will have to provide when collecting the money.
Does Kabayan Remit Have a Mobile App?
Yes, Kabayan Remit has a mobile application available both on android and iOS platforms as a free download. The app has several functionalities including:
Account Signup: You can sign up for an account right from your mobile phone
Check Exchange Rates: You can check the indicative GBP-PHP exchange rates
Send Money: Transfer money on the go at the palm of your hand
Manage Beneficiaries: Add, edit or delete recipient’s as you prefer
Transfer Status and History: You can check your historical transfers by date or recipient and the status of transfers in process.
On Play Store, the Kabayan Remit app has a 4.3/5 rating and a total of 77 reviews. On the App Store, it has a 4.2/5 score with 44 ratings.
How Fast Are Kabayan Remit’s Transfer Speeds?
The transfer speed depends on the payment method you choose.
Bank Transfers: These take 1-2 days to be delivered.
Cash Pickups and Virtual Wallet Top-ups: These are delivered in minutes.
Home Deliveries: Recipients in Metro Manila can get their transfers in 1-2 working days while those in ‘out-of-service’ areas take about 3-4 working days to get their funds.
Are There Maximum and Minimum Transfer Amounts?
Yes, there is a limit per transaction and a monthly transfer ceiling. The maximum you can send per month is £7,000 and the ceiling per transaction is £3,000. Having said that, if you’re making a single transfer that exceeds £1,000 or a regular transfer that exceeds £3,000 within 30 days, this can only be processed if you get verified online. When sending large amounts (above £2,000 per transaction) you must also get in touch with the customer support team on 020 3474 0999 for special arrangements.
When paying using a debit card, the limit is £999. Transfers beyond this value can only be paid through online bank transfer.
Can I Trust Kabayan Remit?
Kabayan Remit has been in the money transfer business for 8 years and has operated in the financial services industry for longer, so yes you can trust this company. However, don’t take our word for it, let us see how it scores in the various trust factors.
History
Incorporated in the UK on 20th June 2012 under company number 0811867, the provider has its headquarters at Murdock House, 30 Murdock Road, Bicester OX26 4PP. As one of the leading brands in the UK-Philippines transfer corridor, Kabayan Remit has more than 10 employees among them compliance managers, customer support specialists, graphic designers, and digital marketers.
Regulatory Compliance
The provider is authorised, and its activities regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It operates under the Payment Services Regulations 2009, as an Authorised Payment Institution (API) number 710792.
It is also licensed and regulated as a Money Services Business (MSB) by Her Majesty Revenue and Customs under license number 12689111. Kabayan Remit is also registered by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) registration number ZA031287. The ICO is an independent body in the United Kingdom established to uphold public information rights.
Key Industry Partnerships
To enhance the quality of service it offers to its customers, Kabayan Remit has entered the following partnerships:
Banking Institutions: Kabayan Remit has active partnerships with 28 banks in the Philippines to help beneficiaries get their money fast and efficiently.
Globe Telecom & Smart Communications: The partnership with these two telecommunications service providers has enabled Kabayan Remit to use their GCash and PayMaya virtual wallets as payout platforms.
RemitONE: This is the most critical and strategic partnership. RemitONE gives the provider infrastructural support solutions including Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), Online Remittance Manager™ (ORM), and Hosted (SaaS) platform. These form the backbone of the remittance system.
Encryption and Customer Data
Kabayan takes customer security and privacy seriously. They’ve taken every reasonable measure to ensure personal data is protected from unauthorised access. Some of the security layers in place include firewalls, cloud storage, IT authentication, and SSL by Default encryption technology.
Investors
The company has a total of 225 ordinary shares privately held by the three directors as follows:
Simon Roberts: 90 shares
Analiza Roberts: 90 shares
David Roberts: 45 shares
Customer Satisfaction
The brand doesn’t have as many reviews on Trustpilot but on Reviews.io it has a total of 10,177 reviews and an overall rating of 4.8/5. Here is what the customers have to say:
- Prompt service – Transfer deliveries were fulfilled within the stipulated time
- Quick customer support – Most transfer tickets raised are resolved in less than an hour
- Competitive rates – The rates offered are excellent and compare closely to the mid-market rates
- Occasional delays – In a few cases customers pointed at delayed transfer deliveries
Can I Cancel My Transfer?
Most transfers are normally sent within minutes, making it difficult if not impossible to recall them. However, if you do need to cancel a transaction, get in touch with the support team on 020 3474 0999 or through [email protected] for assistance.
Top Destinations for Using Kabayan Remit
The only destination for Kabayan Remit is the Philippines, and customers can only send money from the UK. However, the provider is currently looking at expanding to other markets in Europe, Scandinavia and North America.
Customer Support
If you need assistance with anything related to Kabayan Remit, you can get in touch with the customer support team using any of the following channels:
Telephone: Call the support team on toll number 020 3474 0999 for help. You can also request a call back by filling in a request form on the website. Customer service lines are open 24/7 including on bank holidays.
Email: You can email your query to [email protected].
Online Chat: The provider has a 24/7 online chat service linked to the Facebook messenger app.
In writing: You can write to Kabayan Remit on the following address: Kabayan Remit, Murdock House, 30 Murdock Road, Bicester, OX26 4PP.
Social Media: You can also get support through their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Kabayan Remit’s support is bilingual. Therefore, expect to be served in either English or Filipino depending on your preferred language.
Summary
Kabayan Remit is the go-to platform for many Kabayans looking for a cheap, fast, and efficient way to send money to their families and friends in the Philippines. For the 8 years it has been in existence, the provider has been constantly improving its platform usability and looking for strategic partnerships with telephone companies, banks, and other institutions.
Sending and receiving money using the platform is simple. Beneficiaries have the option of direct bank deposits, virtual wallet top-ups, cash pickups, and door-to-door deliveries for their transfers.
When choosing a money transfer provider, you need to carefully compare the exchange rate margins and fees they charge. Fortunately, you can use our money transfer comparison tool to do a quick comparison on who’s cheap, fast and reliable on the UK-Philippines transfer corridor.
Kabayan Remit is one of the innovative brands that has consistently featured on our list of recommended providers to the Philippines, but before choosing a provider it is always best to compare your options to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
