Cebuana Lhuillier promises instant remittances
with integration into Stellar Blockchain Network
Leading microfinance services provider Cebuana Lhuillier continues its foray into innovation and fintech as it announces its recent integration into the Stellar blockchain network. This partnership reinforces its venture into block-chain based payment services.
The partnership with the Stellar network allows customers to receive cross-border remittance payments almost instantly and more conveniently at more than 3,000 Cebuana Lhuillier branches across the Philippines.
This new setup is a blockchain-powered alternative to traditional remittance flows, which typically come with long waits for users, and heavy capital requirements that limit scale and liquidity for Money Transfer Operators (MTOs). The alternative significantly alleviates the challenges faced by MTOs by allowing them to settle payments immediately instead of after days via traditional fiat rails.
This is encouraging news for the millions of Filipinos working overseas who rely on remittance companies like Cebuana Lhuillier to send support to their families in the Philippines. Currently, the Philippines remains one of the top five recipient countries for money remittances, with millions of Overseas Filipino Workers spread out across the globe, forming a key part of a $31 billion-dollar industry.
“Cebuana Lhuillier has always stood by its mission of providing financial inclusion to Filipinos, and that includes the millions of Overseas Filipino Workers, considered modern-day heroes, who toil away overseas in order to provide a better future for their families. Our integration with the Stellar network is part of Cebuana Lhuillier’s constant innovation of its tried-and-tested financial services, all for the purpose of making it easier, more convenient, and more cost-effective for recipients in the Philippines to instantly receive their remittances from abroad,” shared Jean Henri Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO.
The Stellar network is a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network for financial products and services. This integration with Stellar is part of Cebuana Lhuillier’s move towards further exploration of fintech in order to increase the efficiency and convenience of its services.
“As Cebuana Lhuillier joins the Stellar ecosystem, a powerful route for affordable and instant remittances emerge in the Philippines,” said Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation. “Together, we are improving the global financial system by bringing more equitable access to critical markets. Stellar is the network built for payments around the world and this is a step in fulfilling our mission.”
“This integration with Stellar is just one of the many initiatives of Cebuana Lhuillier. We are setting our sights on ensuring a seamless transfer between the offline and online channels for the business and putting systems in place that focus on convenience, accessibility, and efficiency. Our goal is to ensure that every Ka-Cebuana will be able to seamlessly send and receive money via Cebuana Lhuillier, anytime, anywhere, everywhere–whether via physical transactions or through their mobile phones,” added Erl Sumanga, General Manager and Head for Cebuana Lhuillier’s Money Transfers Business.
Register your Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi SIM now
Manila, Philippines [March 13, 2023]Globe at Home is making it easy, hassle-free, and rewarding for Home Prepaid WiFi users to comply with the SIM Registration Act before the April 26 registration deadline to avoid deactivation and keep the best times going.
“We are calling on our Home Prepaid WiFi subscribers to register their SIM as soon as possible so they can enjoy uninterrupted home connection and the numerous promos and rewards exclusive to Globe At Home customers,” said Raymond Policarpio, Vice President of Globe At Home Brand Management.
The registration process is quick and convenient. Just follow these five simple steps.
- Download the GlobeOne app and create an account using your mobile number.
- Connect to your Home Prepaid WiFi device and enroll your account using the number found in the modem box and click “Register Your SIM Now.”
- Fill out the form. Upload one valid government ID and a selfie.
- Enter the one-time password sent to your mobile number.
- Wait for the confirmation message and remember the registration reference code.
To ensure a smooth registration process, Globe advises its subscribers to have all the necessary information and documents ready. These include the following:
- Full name
- Birthday
- Sex
- Address
- Type of government ID presented
- ID number
- Government ID with photo
You will also need to declare that the information you provided is true and correct.
The SIM Card Registration Act is a necessary step to address the growing problem of fraud and cybercrime using unregistered SIMs.
So hurry and register your Home Prepaid WiFi SIM today via the GlobeOne app to avoid deactivation of your SIM and help promote a safer and more secure digital environment for all. New subscribers, meanwhile, are encouraged to register their Home Prepaid WiFi SIM right away to avoid deactivation.
To learn more about the SIM Registration Act, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/help/sim-registration-act.
PLDT Home powers Anilag Festival in Laguna
Laguna, Philippines [13 March 2023] — The country’s fastest broadband, PLDT Home, powers the much-awaited “Anilag” or “Ani ng Laguna” Festival happening on March 11 to 18, 2023, as it returns after three (3) years of pandemic pause. Lagunenses will be able to experience festivities all week long to celebrate the province’s history, agricultural bounty, cultural heritage, and tourism.
“This year’s Anilag Festival will be a historic celebration for Lagunenses as we showcase new and exciting activities for locals, tourists, and partners. The jam-packed festivities are made possible thanks to the support of our local government units and brand partners such as PLDT Home, which has always been a staunch supporter of our ‘Love Laguna’ tourism initiatives in the province,” says Governor Ramil L. Hernandez.
PLDT Home treats Lagunenses with the newest Home Fiber Plans, exciting activities, and special offers. These include free installation and activation worth P3,600.00 for PLDT Home Fiber Plan 1699 and up until March 19. Festival goers can also drop by the PLDT Home booth at the Anilag festival grounds to apply for a plan and receive a complimentary Lionsgate Play access, plus a chance to get more freebies including shopping vouchers, power banks, wireless charging docks, mini air purifiers, and more. To make things even better, new and existing PLDT Home subscribers can now enjoy unlimited calls to PLDT landline and five (5) Smart/TNT numbers.
The Anilag Festival will open with the fluvial parade on March 11, followed by the opening of the Trade Fair Exhibit by 30 Laguna local government units (LGUs), land float parade competition, cultural shows, and more.
On March 18, the Anilag Festival will conclude with a grand cultural show, awarding ceremonies, People’s Night Extreme show, and fireworks display at the festival grounds.
Some of the activities that Lagunenses can look forward to are the Ginoo at Binibining Laguna, Landscape Competition, Himig Laguna Songwriting Competition, Arnis Exhibition, Culinary Arts Cooking Contest, Hot Air Balloon Exhibition, Philippine Marines Corps Silent Drill Platoon and Band Exhibition, ANILAG Got Talent, Rabbit Exhibit, and Cultural Show with the Embassies, among others.
Experience PLDT Home Fiber’s fastest broadband in the country. Visit pldthome.com to learn more and avail the special Anilag offers by visiting the PLDT Home booth from March 11-18 at the festival grounds.
PH: Local threats down, global ranking up
Kaspersky’s report shows the country is now 2nd among most attacked countries in the world
Cybercriminals are relentless and persistent. This is what can be gleaned from recently released insights from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky showing its users in the Philippines received repeated attacks from threats through removable drives and infected websites in 2022 compared to 2021.
The same data from Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) revealed that the country moved two places up, ranking second among countries most attacked by web threats worldwide within January to December last year. The 2022 global ranking is topped by Mongolia (51.1%), followed by the Philippines (49.8%), Ukraine (49.6%), Greece (49.5%), and Belarus (49.1%).
The ranking is based on the number of web-based cyberthreats detected and blocked by Kaspersky products. Based on the report, a single device can frequently be targeted by cybercriminals and subjected to multiple attacks.
Attempts of local malware spread through removable drives such as USB sticks dropped from 35,825,044 in 2021 to 25,060,519 in 2022. This placed the Philippines in the 72nd spot worldwide, two notches down from its 70th rank a year ago.
According to the KSN report, worms and file viruses accounted for the majority of such incidents that were detected and blocked by Kaspersky products in devices of its Filipino customers.
The KSN report showed cybercriminals tried to penetrate systems through attacks via browsers. Detected and foiled incidents by Kaspersky plunged from 50,544,908 to 39,387,052. Drive-by downloads and social engineering are the favorite attack methods used by cyber attackers to spread malware on their victims.
A drive-by download attack is when a user visits a website and unintentionally downloads a malicious code while a social engineering attack is when a user downloads malware but was made to believe it’s a legitimate program. If a company employee connects to an unsecured WIFI network or visits a non-work related website, such actions could result in disastrous and costly damage to company data.
“I would always insist for any business that’s new, or qualifies as a small and medium enterprise to have basic protection from the get-go. Secure the endpoint and then have encryption in place. As you expand, spending on the business and security should be in lockstep. It’s pointless to build a business that is not protected because once you’re compromised, it is costly to repair the damage. At the very least, it could look like losing opportunities for your business because of lost customer trust,” said Chris Connell, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.
“In the Philippines, businesses continue to flourish despite the challenges. We have seen how adversity, such as the pandemic, hastened the digital transformation among local businesses and customers alike. In the same vein, cybercriminals saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of the cybersecurity weaknesses of those jumping on the digital wave. As the country moves towards sustaining its recovery, I hope Filipino businesses will be as aggressive in protecting their devices and their data as cybercriminals are persistent in preying on them,” added Connell.
To help SMBs and midrange enterprises secure their networks against cybercriminals, Kaspersky has launched in Southeast Asia a Buy 1 Free 1 promo. Businesses can now enjoy two years of enterprise-grade endpoint protection for the price of one with Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, Cloud or Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum, with 24×7 phone support. Interested customers can reach out to sea.sales@kaspersky.com.
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