Bangkok, October 4, 2016 – TrueMoney, an Ascend Group’s subsidiary, announces today the launch of TrueMoney Transfer, the company’s first international money transfer solution. Fast, easy, safe, and affordable, TrueMoney Transfer enables real-time fund transfers from Thailand to Myanmar, allowing migrant workers to significantly reduce the expense and risks associated with sending money to family back in Myanmar. Fast with real-time fund transfers, easy with 250 transfer spots in Thailand by end-2016 and 681 transfer spots in Myanmar, safe with a passcode to receive the money that only the sender knows, and affordable with transaction fees starting at 50 Baht.  To celebrate the launch of the TrueMoney Transfer service, TrueMoney is waiving the transfer fees for all transactions until October 31, 2016. Transfer fees usually start at only 50 Baht per transaction.       

Ms. Saranrat Srichiraratana, Managing Director - Thailand of TrueMoney, said“Statistics from the United Nations (UN) show that Thailand currently has 3.91 million registered migrant workers, almost 2 million of which come from Myanmar. The volume of the money they send home annually is as high as 77 billion Baht, averaging at 30,000 Baht per person per year. Each transaction averages at around 6,650 Baht.However, a large number of Myanmar workers remained unbanked.  There are a variety of reasons for this, such as, but not limited to legal status, language barrier, and access to banking services. The result is that Myanmar migrant workers rely on informal networks to move funds across borders. This may include personal connections to send money back home, which is complicated, time-consuming and unsafe. For many Myanmar workers, this informal and traditional process means that  it could take up to 4to 5 days to send funds and there is no guarantee that the intended receiver will ever receive the money. As such, TrueMoney has launched TrueMoney Transfer to turn cross-border remittances into a fast, easy, safe, and affordable service to empowerMyanmar workers and their families and improve their standard of living.”

Ms. Aroon Sudweha, Senior Manager for Business Development of TrueMoney, said,“TrueMoney Transfer is Thailand’s first e-money provider to receive a license from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand to offer cross-border money transfer service. In its launch phase, TrueMoney will focus on Myanmar workers and Myanmar residents in Thailand. The next phase of the company’s development will include expansion to Cambodian, Indonesian, and Filipino residents in Thailand.”

By end-2016, TrueMoney Transfer will have 250 TrueMoney Transfer spots in Thailand and they will be concentrated in areas with a large population of Myanmar migrant workers such as Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakarn, Tak, Ranong, Kanchanaburi, and Phuket. In Myanmar, TrueMoney Transfer has partnered with Asia Green Development (AGD) Bank, a large private financial institution. The 681 TrueMoney Transfer spots in Myanmar cover 91 percent of migrant workers’hometowns such as Mon, Tarintharyi, Kayin, Shan, Yangon, and Bago.

TrueMoney Transfer’s service is fast with the same platform used in both Thailand and Myanmar, allowing real-time transactions and immediate pick-up of money at the destination; easy with TrueMoney Transfer spots to be available both in Bangkok and its vicinities by end-2016, particularly in areas with a large concentration of Myanmar migrant workers and 681 TrueMoney Transfer spots in Myanmar; safe with an 8-digit passcode to receive money; and affordable with transaction fees starting from 50 Baht for transactions from 100-5,000 Baht. Transactions are capped at 30,000 Baht per time and each individual can transfer as much as 200,000 Baht per day. Details and conditions are as stipulated by the company.

Mr. Wenet Suansilpong, Product Manager of TrueMoney, said, “Users can simply register a user account at one of TrueMoney’s official agent shops, show their ID, and instantly transfer funds to Myanmar. After informing the agent of the receiver’s name and mobile number and the amount to be transferred, the sender will be told the exact amount the receiver will receive. The sender will also receive an 8-digit code via SMS.The receiver can immediately use the given code, in addition to their identification and mobile phone number, to receive cash at any of the TrueMoney Transfer spots in Myanmar. TrueMoney has developed this new innovation to offer a cross-border remittance service that is fast, easy, safe, and affordable to upgrade the standard of living of everyone.”