TRUEMONEY Reaches the 1 Million Customer Mark in the Philippines

TrueMoney Philippines recently achieved one of their biggest milestones to date. 

In less than a year of operations in the country, the company already reached its 1 million transacting customer mark. TrueMoney is a Fintech brand of Ascend Money, a digital finance venture of the C.P. Group from Thailand, one of the largest diversified conglomerates in Asia, and Ant Financial (Alipay), the payments arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

 

Humble Beginnings and Rapid Growth 

It wasn’t so long ago when TrueMoney Philippines was just a business concept on a set of PowerPoint slides.

Within the first few months, TrueMoney Philippines grew its workforce from one person to hundreds of employees spread across several regions in the country. The team also launched its core technology system and began offering services on a pilot basis to several partners.

In a few months’ time, it already built what is now one of the largest payment and remittance networks in the country, with over 5,000 TrueMoney Centers.

“Our mission is to provide everyone with ACCESS to affordable and innovative financial services, particularly those who are underbanked and underserved today,” says TrueMoney Philippines CEO Xavier Marzan. “That means being pervasive and going to where these underserved segments are.”

Today, TrueMoney Philippines already provides services such as payment of e-commerce purchases, bills payment, buying of load and credits, and remittance to multiple provinces nationwide, including far flung areas in Albay, Bataan, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Ilocos, Isabela, Laguna, La Union, Metro Manila, Misamis Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales and more!

“Where we are today is just the starting point,” Marzan says. “We are constantly growing our network of partner centers to cover more greenfield areas.”

With an empowered footprint of TrueMoney Centers in strategic corridors, TrueMoney introduced its Money Padala (remittance) service a few months ago. For TrueMoney’s Partner Agents, this meant a more diversified portfolio of services and a greater potential of earning higher income. For its customers, it meant convenience and affordability as TrueMoney’s cash-to-cash Money Padala service is one of the lowest sending rates in the country.

While the average rates for domestic remittances today range from 3 percent to more than 10 percent for some providers, TrueMoney rates go as low as only 2 percent of the transaction amount - without any additional charges to the recipient. So say for remittances of P1,000, the total cost of sending is only P20. The recipient also gets the entire amount without any additional charges.

 

To reinforce its drive to serve the masses, TrueMoney has also worked with talk show host Boy Abunda in promoting the new brand in the Philippine market.

“This is just the first step,” Marzan adds. “In the coming months, we will be launching additional payment partners and expanding our portfolio of services. Given our industry, we need to constantly stay ahead of what the market demands. We need to be at the forefront of innovation to address current gaps in the market with new products as well as to solve difficult challenges in an emerging market like ours with new capabilities.”

To know more about TrueMoney and how to become a TrueMoney partner agent, visit www.truemoney.com.ph or call (02) 7189999. 

You may even text them at 09778063775 (Globe) or 0998565999 (Smart).

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 08:48:00 PM

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5 Hair-Raising Horror Movies on KBO this Halloween Weekend

ABS-CBN TVplus’ Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) guarantees a weekend “screamfest” for families with five hair-raising movies.

This weekend’s features is led by “Haunted Mansion” starring Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel, and Iza Calzado. Ella (Salvador) is not an ordinary teenager as she has the ability to see the dead. She must use this power to save her and her friends after a storm leaves them stranded in a mansion haunted by a violent spirit. They must solve its mystery to rid the house of the evil in it.

Meanwhile, Vhong Navarro plays a heartbroken nurse in “Bulong.” Eager to win the heart of his dream girl, he resorts to whispering his wishes to the dead as instructed by an urban legend. He finds his wishes coming true at first but then death starts to follow him around. He seeks the help of his best friend, played by Angelica Panganiban, to make things right.

Erich Gonzales and Derek Ramsay play a couple desperate to have a child in “Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang.” Obsessed with her desire to conceive, Corazon (Gonzales), turns to dark magic. Anger and hate consume her when her efforts fail so she begins to take the children of her town one by one.

Kara (Cristine Reyes) is a single mother providing for her son in “Elemento.” She must find out what truly happened to her son after he comes back from a field trip to a nearby forest like a different person.

“Pridyider” tells the story of Tina Benitez (Andi Eigenmann), who must solve the mystery surrounding her refrigerator to rid the house she inherited from her parents from an evil presence.

Register now to KBO 30 and get KBOnding with the family by watching these five movies and a marathon of “The Greatest Love.”

Not only that, KBO 30 comes with 100 tri-net texts (to Globe, Touch Mobile, and ABS-CBNmobile), and 50MB data for only P30. Get two weeks’ worth of KBO through KBOnding DUO for only P50. It also comes with 100 tri-net texts and 50MB data.

Watch these five movies through KBO by texting KBO30 OCT28 [BOX ID] to 2131 using ABS-CBNmobile. Text KBO50 [BOX ID] to 2131 for KBOnding DUO and get subscribed to this week and next week’s KBO offerings. ABS-CBNmobile load is available in the SM Store, Puregold, Ministop, Robinson’s, Globe load outlets and sari-sari stores nationwide.

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 08:37:00 PM

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"Walang Takot!" The 13th Cinema One Originals Festival Coming this November

Walang Takot. The tagline of the 13th Cinema One Originals translates into ‘fearless’ in English and is more than an apt descriptor for the festival’s programming ethos and its reputation, the way it has, year in and year out, shepherded unique, adventurous cinematic voices into the limelight.

But Walang Takot also exemplifies not only the way the festival is embracing the changing face and attitudes of cinema, from the paradigm shifts when it comes to new ways of watching films to the influx of a diverse new audience, with a deeper sense of cinematic history and new cinematic modes, but also the way it endeavors to ride the changes by closing the gaps, striving for a cinematic experience that allows for the co-existence of old and new platforms and the convergence of old and new audiences, where past and future cinema occupy the same evolutionary continuum, looking back by moving forward.

The two films that make up this year’s documentary section are both examinations of a past with uncanny present-day resonances but from diverse vantage points. Dempster Samarista’s “Bundok Banahaw, Sacred and Profane” is an exploration of the titular mystical mountain, using secret histories and sacred knowledge as a way of piecing together our cultural psyche. Phyllis Grande’s “Haunted: A Visit to the Red House” focuses on the atrocities visited by Japanese soldiers on comfort women during World War 2, a horrendous collective memory that remains eerily relevant and refuses to be forgotten.

There are seven films in the full-length narrative section, including two returning alumni, two debuts and two much-awaited second features. In “Paki,” Dagitab director Giancarlo Abrahan casts veteran character actress Dexter Doria in her very first lead role as woman in her golden years whose children tries to stop her from leaving her husband of sixty years to live the rest of her days out as an old maid. Shamaine Buencamino and Noel Trinidad co-star.

“Nervous Translation,” about a shy girl who discovers a pen that can translate the thoughts and feelings of people when they get nervous, is written and directed by Cinema One alumna Shireen Seno, whose “Big Boy” was part of Cinema One Originals 2013, itself a slightly odd, often magical childhood reverie. Jana Agoncillo and Sid Lucero star.

Richard Somes, of “Yanggaw,” “Ishmael” and “Mariposa” fame, returns to Cinema One for his fourth outing in the festival, with “Historiographika Errata,” an elaborate historical mosaic that attempts to figure out why we are what we are, throwing in the mix a suicidal Rizal, a cross-dressing Bonifacio and the widow who became the first Makapili. The sprawling, ambitious film features Joem Bascon, Alex Medina, Maxine Eigenmann and Nathalie Hart.

For his first outing with Cinema One, “Walang Forever” director Dan Villegas adapts Vincent De Jesus’ much-loved stage musical “Changing Partners,”  a bittersweet exploration of relationships told in perspectives of various genders, starring Agot Isidro, Anna Luna, Jojit Lorenzo and Sandino Martin.

Kip Oebanda, fresh off the success of “Bar Boys,” is directing the aswang inversion “Nay,” about a man suffering from a terminal disease who uncovers a dark family secret. Enchong Dee, Sylvia Sanchez and Jameson Blake star.

The two first features this year are Fatrick Tabada and Rae Red’s “Si Chedeng At Si Apple,” a dark comedy where Elizabeth Oropesa and Gloria Diaz play two old girl friends who become accidental criminals and embark on a road trip with a severed head in a fake Louis Vuitton bag, and Joseph Teoxon’s time-jumping “Throwback Today,” in which Carlo Aquino plays a disgruntled young man at the end of his rope who stumbles on an impossible way to rewrite his own history. Annicka Dolonius, Empress Shuck and Allan Paule co-star.

The year’s world cinema highlights also grace this year’s foreign film line-up, a 13 –strong program that includes Robin Campillo’s “Beats Per Minute,” Claire Denis’ “Let The Sun Shine In,” Francois Ozon’s “L’Amant Double,” Ildiko Enyedi’s “On Body And Soul,” Joachim Trier’s “Thelma,” Hirokazu Koreeda’s “The Third Murder,” Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Before We Vanish,” Sebastian Leilo’s “A Fantastic Woman,” Amit Masurkar’s “Newton,” Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama, The Safdie Brothers’ Good Time,” Warwick Thornton’s “Sweet Country,” Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name,” and the 4K restoration of Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Among the restored classics to be showcased this year include Marilou Diaz Abaya’s “Moral,” Jeffrey Sonora’s “Asedillo,” Celso Ad Castillo’s “Tag Ulan Tag Araw” and Danny Zialcita’s “Langis At Tubig.” Restored versions Zialcita’s “Karma,” Abaya’s “Karnal” and Lino Brocka’s “Cain at Abel” will also be screened.

Lastly, Sari Dalena’s documentary on Ishmael Bernal, “Ishma,” will screen to coincide with the launch of the new Ishmael Bernal book, “ProBernal Anti Bio,” written by Ishmael Bernal himself with Jorge Ayago and Angela Stuart-Santiago.

The 13th Cinema One Originals runs from November 13-21 at Trinoma, Glorietta, Gateway, UP Cine Adarna, Cinema 76 and Cinematheque with an extended run from November 22-28 at the Power Plant Mall.

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 08:36:00 PM

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Discover Double the Power of Nature’s Gifts to Your Body with NATURALS by WATSONS

Heads up, natural beauties! WATSONS now gives you only the Naturals your natural beauty deserve; specially formulated products with Certified Organic ingredients that are good for you.

Who doesn’t want to bathe in their favorite scents and products without the fear of losing moisture and having dry skin? Or enjoying your favorite shampoo and conditioner without ever thinking about getting flakes and frizz? With the power of natural products, you can say bye-bye to these fears and say hello to naturally beautiful hair and skin.

However, most of you already have your favorite go-to synthetic products, but are these favorites really giving you the benefits you want for your hair and skin? Probably. But how sure are you that your current synthetic product has no harmful effects to your body in the long run?

There’s a whole lot of reasons why harmful ingredients like Parabens, Mineral Oil, Silicone, SLS, and Isothiazolinone which are usually found in synthetic products a big no-no in the shopping cart. They can cause irritation and dryness to your skin & scalp, like when sulfate strips your skin off moisture. So if you care for your body, always check the label and avoid these ingredients! We don’t want your skin getting itchy and dull.

But no need to worry because we’ve got great news for you! Watsons is here to provide you with products you’ll surely love! Made with double the power of organic and natural ingredients sourced from all around the world and definitely free from harmful ingredients, Naturals by Watsons is here to help you achieve naturally beautiful and healthy skin!

To help you achieve that harm-free, natural beauty, Watsons started the Only Naturals campaign to help people learn more about the power of natural products; where they originated and their great benefits, plus a 101 on the harmful ingredients to be avoided, to help you decide what to get when looking for what’s best for your skin and scalp. 

Watsons introduces 7 ranges formulated with certified organic ingredients Olive, Argan, Marula, Aloe Vera, Paw Paw, Rice Bran, and Macadamia, all in Naturals that you can cop exclusively at Watsons. 

With double the power of Naturals by Watsons’ active ingredients, you can get that healthy, beautiful hair and skin you’ve always wanted, giving the TLC it deserves!

Discover Naturals by Watsons:

Olive
Sourced from Italy, Olive is a go-to ingredient that provides deep moisturizing great for getting rid of hair’s dryness and for achieving that cleansed, hydrated skin.

Argan
Argan range works best with extremely dry and damaged hair and skin with its double powered revitalizing and moisturizing. This liquid gold is sourced from Morocco.

Marula
Marula from Africa has a caring formula that restores hair moisture and tames frizz to turn course, brittle hair to soft and smooth locks.

Aloe Vera
Sourced from the US & UK, Aloe Vera range doubles the soothing benefits of organic Aloe Vera and extract for dry and irritated skin while strengthening your hair from roots to tips, perfect for dandruff-prone, oily scalp.

Paw Paw
Paw Paw range from Australia doubles the repairing action for a healthy-looking, smoother skin.

Rice Bran
Japan’s secret to achieving a more luminous-looking skin. Rice Bran effectively whitens without stripping your skin of its moisture.

Macadamia
Another one from Australia, Macadamia range doubles the rejuvenating effects that gets rid of dull, fine hair by rebalancing hair moisture for a revitalized hair and scalp.

 

What a promising range, don’t you agree? Discover double the power of nature’s gifts with Naturals by Watsons! 

Treating your body it deserves need not to be expensive, Naturals by Watsons priced from 99 to 259 pesos and is exclusively available at Watsons and the SM Store Beauty Section! 

Not only that, if you are a SMAC member, you can get 25% off on your favorite Naturals by Watsons products from October 26 to November 22, 2017.

Start taking better care of your natural beauty! Head on over to a Watsons near you and go for Naturals now!

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 08:10:00 PM

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New SKYdirect Subscribers Get Eearly Christmas Gift

SKYdirect has an early Christmas treat for its new Prepaid subscribers from October 2017 to December 31, 2017.

SKY’s direct-to-home satellite TV service will open access to ABS-CBN HD, ABSCBN S+A, Cinemo, Yey, Knowledge Channel, GMA, TV5, and PTV 4 until March 31, 2018 without an initial load requirement.

Subscribers can look forward to clear and crisp viewing of hit Kapamilya shows such as “It’s Showtime,” “ASAP,” “Umagang Kay Ganda,” ABS-CBN’s flagship newscast “TV Patrol” and more on ABS-CBN HD.

Kids can feast on well-loved cartoons like "Spongebob," "Peppa Pig," and "Strawberry Shortcake" on Yey, and learn from Knowledge Channel’s "MathDali" and "K-High."  The whole family can enjoy "Funny Ka, Pare Ko" and "FPJ’s Ang Probinsiyano Action Marathon" on CineMo, and watch basketball, volleyball, boxing, and other sporting events on S+A (ABS-CBN Sports + Action).

The SKYdirect Prepaid Kit that comes with an HD Box is now at a lower price of P3,499 instead of the regular cost of P3,699.  If subscribers wish to access more channels, they simply need to load from any of the available Prepaid Plans 99, 150, 250, 450 or Kapamilya 99.

Ordering is as simple as sending a text message to 23668. For more details, check out mysky.com.ph/christmasaya.  Bonding with the family this Christmas will surely be exciting and wonderful by watching top-rating shows at home.

SKYdirect is the satellite TV service of SKY that gives Filipino families nationwide access to a rich channel lineup with the aim of strengthening the relationship of families at home. SKY Cable is the cable, direct-to-home, and broadband unit of ABS-CBN.

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 07:59:00 PM

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Alisah Bonaobra Was Sent Home By Sharon Osbourne At The Judges House Round of X Factor UK

Filipina singer Alisah Bonaobra was sent home by judge and mentor Sharon Osbourne at the judges’ house round on Sunday’s episode of the show.  She sang her version of Sam Smith’s hit song Lay Me Down in front of Sharon and her children Jack and Kelly. After her performance, the Osbourne children were both very impressed.

“She can sing!” expressed by Kelly Osbourne.

To which her brother Jack agreed. “That’s the cleanest performance we’ve seen.”

“Every time we’ll hear her sing, she’s been consistent, the only reason I didn’t put her through at six chairs- ‘coz she was out- she was in, was because every song she sang was like Whitney Houston, or a Disney song which you can’t do week after week because it becomes cheese fest.” Sharon said after Alisah’s performance.

Alisah was then asked by host Dermot O’Leary if she thinks she’s done enough and she gave an optimistic response. “Hopefully I’ve done enough because I just gave [it] my all.”

When the decision was made, Sharon brought the news to all the contestants through a one-on-one conversation. While talking to Alisah, Sharon made sure to acknowledge the talent and hard work she had been putting.

“You have the most amazing voice, I know that you really need this and you really want it. But I feel that you’re kind of very one-dimensional, your power ballads, and even though that’s fantastic, I wanna see other sides of you,” Sharon first told Alisah.

“This is a very, very hard decision for me. A very, very hard decision and I didn’t come to it lightly,” Sharon added. “I’m so sorry but I’m gonna be sending you home.”

 

Alisah just burst out in tears as host Dermot gave her a tight hug.

The X Factor UK airs first and exclusive on RTL CBS Entertainment same day as the UK on Sundays and Mondays at 10:30am with primetime encores Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays at 9:00pm. 

RTL CBS Entertainment is available on SKYcable channels 53(SD) and 196(HD), SKYdirect channel 35, Destiny Cable channel 53, and Cablelink channels 37(SD) and 313(HD).

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 07:59:00 PM

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“Sports U” Gets Up Close and Personal with Filipino Volleyball Stars

“Sports U” heightens the anticipation for the upcoming Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Star Sunday with a special interview with some of the high-flying spikers this Thursday (October 26) after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN.

Host Dyan Castillejo gets up close and personal with the top volleyball stars in the land and will look back at three conferences’ worth of highlights from the league’s inaugural season, which aired on ABS-CBN S+A.

The PVL All-Star Sunday, which will be held on October 29 at the FilOil FlyingV Arena in San Juan,  splits its best players from the men’s division and women’s division for two exciting volleyball matches featuring the likes of Ateneo’s Marck Espejo for the Blue Team, Philippine Air Force’s Fauzi Ismali for the Yellow Team, Creamline’s Jia Morado for the White Team, and BaliPure’s Grethcel Soltones for the Red Team.

It will also have intermission numbers from Star Music artists Miko & Gab, Yohan Hwang, and Marlo Mortel.

Meanwhile, “Sports U” also introduces viewers to surfing prodigy Joseph “Biboy” Sarabia of Sorsogon and gives race fans a peek at the Formula 4 Southeast Asia 2017 leg held in Clark, Pampanga.

 

Don't miss these and more on “Sports U,” this Thursday (October 26) after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable Ch. 167) and on Saturday (October 28), ‪6:30am on S+A. Watch online via iwantv.com.ph or  skyondemand.com.ph. For updates, like @SportsUtv on Facebook and Twitter.

By: JENG On 10/25/2017 07:52:00 PM

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Zsa Zsa Padilla Heats Up "Wildflower" as Red Dragon

ABS-CBN's hit and record-breaking series "Wildflower" once again captivated viewers as it finally revealed Zsa Zsa Padilla as the mysterious Red Dragon, Emilia's (Aiko Melendez) mother and Lily's (Maja Salvador) newest enemy.

Viewers witnessed the mother and daughter's emotional reunion in Friday's (Oct 20) episode, with the former singing the popular ballad "La Vie en Rose." To make up for lost time, Red Dragon vowed to get back at everyone who wronged Emilia, from Red Dragon's ex-husband Julio (Tirso Cruz III), to Diego (Joseph Marco) ,and most especially, Lily.

Now that Red Dragon has finally come out, what will be her next steps against Lily and the Ardientes? How will Julio reaction when he sees his old flame? How will Lily Cruz fight her new enemy? 

Don't miss "Wildflower," weeknights before "TV Patrol" on ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable ch 167). For updates, follow @wildflowerabscbn on Instagram, @RSBDramaUnitNew on Twitter and like the show's official Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/wildflowerchannel2/. Catch its latest episodes on iwantv.com.ph or skyondemand.com.phfor Sky subscribers.

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By: JENG On 10/23/2017 12:29:00 AM

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Alisah Bonaobra Got Eliminated in 'X Factor UK'

Alisah Bonaobra ends her "The X Factor UK" journey after she failed to impress judge Sharon Osbourne and her children Jack and Kelly during the reality singing competition's Judge's House edition.

The Filipina singer performed Sam Smith's Lay Me Down in front of the Osbournes on 

Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) episode. But despite her powerful performance, she failed to get a spot in the girl's group final three.

"You have the most amazing voice. I know you really need this and you really want it. But I feel that you're kind of very one dimensional. Your power ballads, and even though that's fantastic, I want to see other sides of you," Sharon told Alisah.

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By: JENG On 10/22/2017 11:26:00 PM

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