Bitwage launches International Payroll for the Individual

At the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami Beach this past weekend, Bitwage, a California-based Bitcoin payroll company, announced the launch of its third and latest product: International Payroll for the Individual.

Bitwage said in a blog post that the new service allows employees to receive wages worldwide in local currency from any American employer. International Payroll for the Individual makes this possible without requiring the individual employee to have a bank account, and without needing the employer to willfully participate.

Bitwage said that with the initial version of this launch comes the first transparent fiat-to-fiat solution to provide global payrolls and payment from the United States to the Philippines by leveraging the Bitcoin protocol. The company has integrated with its exchange partner, Coins.ph, to offer the lowest prices along with the highest number of payment options, which include Bitcoin, bank transfers, cash cards, cash pickup, mobile money, and door-to-door delivery.

A leading Bitcoin wallet and exchange in the Philippines, Coins.ph allows anyone, including those who do not have access to bank accounts or credit cards, to easily send funds to the Philippines, add funds to their mobile phones, and shop at more than 63,000 international merchants using digital currency. The company’s mission is to increase financial inclusion in Southeast Asia by delivering financial services over mobile phones.

“There are estimated one million Filipino professionals working for overseas companies via services like Elance and Odesk. On average, companies using traditional options pay $80 in fees for every $1000 remitted to the Philippines,” said Coins.ph CEO Ron Hose in Bitwage’s blog post. “In addition to offering individuals a more convenient and low cost method of receiving payments, together with Bitwage, we are offering companies a cheaper, more convenient way to send funds to employees in the Philippines. Our cash-to-cash delivery is powered by the bitcoin network, but leverages our network of payout options spanning 24 banks, 500 retail cash pick-up locations, and 450 24/7 ATMs to deliver cash to employees.”

Bitwage said the Philippines was a natural fit for the initial launch of its International Payroll for the Individual, as the country is among the top four nations receiving remittances and among the top 5 receiving outsourced payments.

Bitwage plans to expand its International Payroll service this year to enable more currency inputs and outputs while continuing to improve the features of its flagship BP(i) platform.

Image via a previous press release by Bitwage