Direct Agent 5 Inc. (DA5) received the approval of its request to operate as a Non-Bank Electronic Money Issuer (EMI), Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP), and Type A Advanced Electronic Payment and Financial Services (EPFS) from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). With this approval, DA5 is the 20th entity to have a VASP License; the 43rd Non-financial banking institution (NFBI) to have an EMI License; and the 9th entity to have both VASP and Non-Bank EMI licenses based on publicly available documents.
DA5 is one of the leading authorized direct agents of Western Union in the Philippines. Since its inception in 2006, DA5 has an established 1,800 location footprint across the Philippines. In addition to the newly acquired licenses, it already operates as a Remittance and Transfer Company through its existing Remittance Agent License (RA) and Money Changing / Foreign Exchange Dealing License (MC/FXD) from the BSP. Taken together, DA5 secures the title as the only Money Service Business (MSB) to offer remittances, foreign exchange, crypto exchange, and e-money facilities.
Raymond Babst, CEO and President of DA5, has expressed interest to fully utilize the company’s newly acquired licenses to make remittances cheaper and more secure through blockchain technology. “After 16 years of servicing the OFWs, DA5 can further help our modern day heroes by bringing down the cost of remittances at a fraction of what banks and traditional remittance companies are currently charging.”
In an effort to accomplish this, DA5 will launch its own hybrid digital wallet – SurgePay – within the first quarter of 2023. SurgePay aims to be the most innovative Web 3.0 wallet to hit the Philippine market. It boasts an alternative method of conducting seamless money and asset transfers that fully utilizes blockchain technology. This means that users can send and receive money and claim their remittances in seconds from any DA5 outlet nationwide.
DA5, having been a regulated entity for the past 16 years, is poised to lead the Philippine Financial Ecosystem marrying blockchain technology with government regulation. By doing so, it positions the Philippines as a progressive country that embraces blockchain, tokenization, and Web 3.0 development putting it at par with its Asian neighbors like Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, and Korea.
About Direct Agent 5 Inc.
Direct Agent 5, Inc. (DA5) is a joint venture company composed of the national confederation of cooperatives, together with well-established companies that are primarily engaged in pawnshops, money changing, shopping malls, and food shops. Established in 2006, Direct Agent 5 (DA5) is one of the leading authorized direct agents of Western Union in the Philippines and has eventually grown to accommodate various services including bill payments, and prepaid card retailing.
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