Miss Universe Philippines has teamed up with Sendwave, a fee-free mobile app that Filipinos abroad can use to send money to their loved ones back home as everyone prepares to celebrate the Christmas and New Year Holidays. The mobile app has recently expanded in the Philippines but has been used by many for the past years.

Sendwave is a money transfer app with a mission to make sending funds to loved ones as easy and affordable as sending a text. Unlike its competitors, Sendwave prides itself on remaining fee- free in the Philippines, as well as most of the markets it operates in.”

At the online press conference for the launch of the partnership, Miss Universe Philippines Communications Director Voltaire Tayag explained the story behind the partnership with Sendwave.

“Many of the delegates whether they are in the male pageants or female pageants, they’ve grown up or were raised by a parent or a relative with probably an OFW or whose working from overseas,” he said. “In Miss Universe Philippines, a great majority of the candidates are related to someone or is close to somebody who is an OFW. That’s why our organization, Miss Universe Philippines is very excited to introduce a new company that will help the livelihood of our kababayans everywhere.”

Tayag said that these people are those who supported the beauty queens and by working with Sendwave, they will be able to help more without expensive charges to families.

The company understands how Filipinos work hard to support their loved ones,” he said.

Sendwave’s partnership with Miss Universe Philippines is very important among beauty queens. Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados been tapped by the brand as its spokesperson and she said she’s happy to support a brand that is about communities.

“Filipinos are passionate about beauty pageants and love to show support for their contestants — no matter where they are in the world,” she said. “I’m proud to represent a company that truly cares about the community it serves.”

Sendwave’s arrival also comes at a time wherein the OFWs are feeling the hard time of the pandemic. In a statement, Will Fogel, CEO of Sendwave, said that they want to offer more options for those who want to send money without a high transaction.

“The pandemic revealed a need to shift toward more digital options for sending money,” he said. “We wanted to help address that for the Filipino community and provide them with a more affordable way to send funds to the people they care about.”

For those who are curious about how to use Sendwave, all they have to do is download the app and look for the friendly penguin. Once downloaded, they can fill up the information and the country where they are sending the money to.

Sendwave is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, and parts of Europe. Those from abroad are also happy to know that Sendwave has various banking partners in the Philippines. Their loved ones can choose to receive the money through GCash, a bank account (Sendwave can send to over 30 major banks including PNB, BDO, and Metrobank), or opt for a cash pickup at M Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Pawnshop, LBC Express, and more. The recipient will then receive a text notifying them about the cash pickup or Gcash transfer within minutes. For bank transfers, they can check their bank app to verify that the funds have reached the account, typically between one to five hours after it’s been sent.

To celebrate their sponsorship of MISS UNIVERSE Philippines, Sendwave is launching a special promotion. Enter promo code MUPH and Sendwave will add $10 (approximately PHP500) to the recipient’s funds as a bonus.

Now every beauty queen and their families have a partner when it comes to transacting money from loved ones abroad.