Overseas Filipinos strengthen ties to home with Free Bee, Smart and Coins.ph

Top global tech services firms Coins.ph, PLDT Global, DT One, and CTL team up to provide better access to digital communications for OFWs

Filipinos living and working overseas can now strengthen their connections with their families back home through a faster, more affordable way to make calls to the Philippines, thanks to the new partnership between PLDT Global Corporation and leading Philippines mobile wallet Coins.ph.

Through PLDT Global’s award-winning app Free Bee, Filipinos abroad can call family and friends in the Philippines who are not connected to the internet. With this collaboration, Coins.ph provides digital access for overseas Filipinos to load their Free Bee accounts anytime and anywhere. Time saved means they can connect with their loved ones longer.

As a trusted financial services provider for over five million Filipinos and one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing fintech companies, Coins.ph enables anyone, especially the unbanked, to have access to a mobile wallet and financial services, such as international and domestic remittances, airtime top-up, bill payments, and digital currency purchases directly from their mobile phone.

Free Bee is an advertising-based voice service that delivers free high-quality international direct dialing (IDD) calls to PLDT, Smart, TNT, and Sun numbers in the Philippines, even if the call recipient is not connected to the internet. For longer calls and ad-free experience, customers have the option to buy Premium Free Bee Voice buckets at affordable rates from global retailers or via in-app and online purchases through Coins.ph.

This partnership is supported by Singapore-headquartered global mobile top-up network DT One, and Hong Kong-based company Communigate Technologies, Ltd. (CTL), which both provide wider distribution channels for Smart and Free Bee products to reach Filipino communities worldwide.

"This partnership is in line with the shared vision of Coins.ph and PLDT in supporting overseas Filipinos and improving how they connect with their loved ones in the Philippines." said Ron Hose, Chief Executive Officer at Coins.ph.

"Our tie-up with Coins.ph, DT One and CTL is a testament of our commitment to serve Filipinos all over the world, by providing more ways for OFWs to access Smart, TNT, Sun, and Free Bee credits with just a couple of taps on their smartphones, so that they can make their connections back home stronger than ever,” said Albert Villa-Real, Chief Commercial Officer at PLDT Global.