By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
Cognizant of the sacrifices and challenges of the country’s valuable human resources working abroad, Ventaja International Corporation finds innovative solutions that would address the concerns of the Overseas Filipino Workers.
Started its operation in 2004, Ventaja as an IT company developed platforms to serve the huge demand for long-distance calls by exporting telecom prepaid cards from the Philippines to Filipino migrant workers based overseas.
In 2007, the company achieved another milestone. Ventaja was the first company to collect SSS contributions and loan payments electronically from OFWs. Prior to Ventaja, it would take 6 months for SSS to record paper-based contributions from OFWs. Ventaja made it possible for all payments to be posted within a couple of business days.
In 2009 and 2011, Ventaja started accepting payments for Pag-IBIG and Philhealth, respectively. And in 2015, Ventaja made it possible for OFWs to shop online and pay with cash at remittance centers across the world. Ventaja’s online merchant partners include Cebu Pacific and Goldilock’s.
Over the years, Ventaja ventured to expand its network of collection agents in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. As this network grew, so did collection volumes. Ventaja has been the largest collection partner for the Philippine government for many years now and has received several awards in the process. Ventaja is in SSS’ Hall of Fame for consistently being the Best OFW Collecting Partner. Pag-IBIG recognized Ventaja as their Top Performer in 2019; while Philhealth gave Ventaja an Exemplary Performance Award in 2018.
“We are committed to making government payments accessible to all OFWs. We want to empower OFWs; to make it possible for them buy homes and save for retirement,” says Mr. Vincent Grey, Founder and CEO of Ventaja International Corp.
Ventaja continues to grow and innovate and soon they will unveil their digital platform. just recently, the company embarked on strengthening its entire software infrastructure to ensure a seamless rollout and interface with other fintech companies and integrate with its other services. This includes but not limited to new billers and merchants. In terms of reach, Ventaja will continue to step up its technological innovation until all OFWs can pay their SSS contributions or Pag IBIG amortizations from wherever they are without having to go through the hassle of long queue, technical glitch and other hitches that can be avoided.