Western Union to provide 50% money transfer fee reduction for frontline and essential workers

Tweet

Western Union provides fee reduction for frontline and essential workers as a part of company’s ongoing efforts to provide essential money transfers and payments services amid the COVID-19 pandemic

MANILA, MAY 11, 2020–Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, today announced a 50 percent fee reduction1 for front-line responders and essential workers sending money globally via any of the company's digital channels for the next two weeks. The promotion is a small tribute by the company to these customers for their endless commitment to their local communities and dedication to maintain the infrastructure and resources necessary to keep local economies afloat.

More than 65 percent of global citizens working and living across the world perform roles as first responders or in essential service industries, according to Western Union’s business intelligence. These global citizens indexed high across major countries including 63 percent in the U.S., 67 percent in the U.K, 68 percent in France, 70 percent in Germany, 62 percent in Australia, 58 percent in the UAE and 71 percent in Saudi Arabia.

“When the world stopped, our first responders and essential workers kept going,” said Western Union President and CEO Hikmet Ersek. “They have continued to show up, day after day, to make it possible for our communities and economies to carry on.”

“Many of the world’s frontline or essential workers are global citizens who regularly send money to loved ones back home. At Western Union, our inspiration comes from our customers who trust us with their hard-earned money. We want to acknowledge their dedication to keeping remittances moving to the communities and economies around the world that depend on them the most and support them as they continue promoting the health and safety of the communities around them.”

The fee reduction, valid with transfer code Thanks2020, applies to any transaction initiated in the majority of Western Union’s digital-enabled countries at westernunion.com or via the Western Union app, and received anywhere Western Union’s Global Network reaches: via bank account or wallet payout in more than 100 countries, as well as retail Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. The fee reduction will run from now until May 20, 2020 and is available to first responders representing medical, police, and fire department professionals as well as essential workers across food, transport, utility, and other essential industries, including manufacturing and construction.

Last month, Western Union announced the expansion of its digital money transfer services, the fastest-growing part of its business in 2019, to more than 75 countries. The end-to-end coverage ensures that these safe, convenient digital services are available to millions of the world’s most active money movers, especially during COVID-19. The company also last month announced, “Digital Location”, a phone-based concierge service meant to help customers complete digital transactions from the safety of their homes as well as home-delivery of remittance funds in some markets.

Western Union and the Western Union Foundation, along with partners, have pledged more than US$1.0 million in the fight against COVID-19. The foundation is prioritizing initiatives that include strengthening healthcare systems around the globe, serving vulnerable populations, including refugees and migrants. Additionally, the Foundation will continue to support local and global nonprofit organizations providing access to essential services, including hunger relief, medical training, education, supplies and equipment for frontline healthcare workers.

In addition, Western Union Business Solutions’ WU® NGO GlobalPay platform has enabled NGOs to focus on the vital work at hand delivering critical international operations to support communities in need. Since 2012, more than 2,000 NGOs have sent nearly $8 billion around the world in 132 currencies to more than 200 countries, through the platform.

All of Western Union’s responses and initiatives related to COVID-19 may be accessed via our dedicated Resource Center here.

WU-G

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of December 31, 2019, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering our branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2019, is available in over 75 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

Reference:

Western Union makes money on the foreign exchange conversion

Learning at Your Fingertips with TikTok’s Latest Campaign

Tweet

MANILA, MAY 21, 2020- TikTok will officially launch its learning-centric campaign to empower users with knowledge through short-form videos on May 25.

The #TikTokU Program aims to bring learning straight to everyone’s smartphones for users to gain access to practical tips and up-to-date knowledge, all from talented creators in the Philippines.

With the platform’s diversified content, users are provided with a library of educational videos ready for consumption within a minute or less. This creates the perfect opportunity to convert those idle time of in-betweens into productive learning moments.

Learning a new language, a quick art and crafts tutorial, or trivial things has never been this fun and easy  

      

Learning a new language:

https://www.tiktok.com/@showsuzuki/video/6820648029171830018 ; 

Arts and crafts: https://www.tiktok.com/@krisydays/video/6799515644334296321; 

Trivial things https://www.tiktok.com/@alamnyobato/video/68258158064006464  

“These days, education is no longer confined to classrooms, and the ways of learning are changing, too. TikTok is giving alternative and accessible ways for the thirsty creative minds of Filipinos open to discovering new ideas. We believe that everybody deserves access to various forms of education. That is why we launch #TikTokU. We hope users will join us in celebrating knowledge and sharing their creativity for the benefits of the wider community,” said John Castro, TikTok User, Community and Operations Manager.

As a leading digital platform, TikTok believes in taking an active role in supporting the community, and being able to provide another channel for educational content is one vital way of doing so.  With the app’s user-centric design, anyone can effortlessly produce educational content that is creative, inspiring and effective. Powered by top-notch machine-learning technologies, the app’s easy-to-use video capturing and editing tools instantly transform smartphones into powerful tools for teaching and sharing knowledge. 

The first round of #TikTokU will be kicked off on May 25, with a search for creators to add to its elite roster of teachers and instructors. This first phase will focus on creators of Science and Education, DIY and Life Hacks, and Advice and Motivational content. 

Entries will be categorized into four tracks, based on the user’s number of followers, to create fair and equal opportunities for all participants. The four tracks are:

        

Senior Scholarship: Open to those whose followers are 500k and above on TikTok 

       

Junior Scholarship: Open to those with 100k to 500k followers on TikTok

        

Sophomore Scholarship: Open to those with 10k to 100k followers on on TikTok

      

Freshman Scholarship: Open to those with under 10k followers on TikTok

Those who are interested to join the #TikTokU Program may submit entries following these simple rules and guidelines:

• Entrants must create at least 3 entries for the campaign.
• Content must be educational and useful, and must fall under the Science and Education, DIY and Life Hacks, or Advice and Motivational themes, with the assigned hashtag/s incorporated.
• The ideal duration and format of videos are 30 seconds and above, shot on a 9:16 vertical screen.
• The campaign is open to all creators aged 18 and above from the Philippines.
• Videos must adhere to the TikTok community guidelines.
• Winners will be selected based on the total video views of all eligible videos they post during 
the campaign. A candidate-ranking dashboard will be updated regularly to reflect the most viewed creators in each track. 

Creators who are selected for the #TikTokU Program stand to win cash rewards, and will be invited to the #TikTokU Creator Group, where they will receive development and growth support from TikTok as follows:

    Senior Scholarship (5 winners) – PHP40,000 cash, and 1-to-1 support for 3 months

   Junior Scholarship (15 winners) – PHP30,000 cash, and 1-to-1 support for 3 months

    Sophomore Scholarship (30 winners) – PHP20,000 cash, and 3-month upskilling

    Freshman Scholarship (75 winners) – PHP10,000 cash, and 3-month upskilling

The first round of the the #TikTokU Program will run from May 25 to June 15, 2020. Winners will be announced on June 19.

Support the pioneers of the #TikTokU Program by downloading TikTok on your iOS and Android devices and start learning today!

About TikTok

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok has global offices including Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo. www.tiktok.com.

Skin Magical cares, extends helping hand to employees, frontliners

Tweet

Living good life and leadership skills help you achieve an unshakable faith in yourself and know and feel the true meaning of life.

As the coronavirus pandemic gives people all over the world stressful and an self-isolation, one woman has created a simple way for employees and friends to help each other....truly, a businesswoman with a heart.

When the government placed the entire island of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine starting March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Skin Magical, headed by Founder and Chief Operating Officer Ghie Pangilinan, and its subsidiaries wasted no time and extended a helping hand to their employees, distributors, franchisees, the communityand frontliners in health facilities.

For her 242 employees, Pangilinan prepared rice and food packs that included canned and instant foods items. She was more creative with her relief efforts when it came to Skin Magical and Speaks G’s distributors and franchisees. Through her ambassadors Madam Kilay and Lars Pachecho, they were able to giveaway a P1,000 each to her distributors and franchises for a total of P140,000.

Pangilinan also held live raffles and gave away P500 each to 50 winners and P1,000 each to 40 winners. Twenty reseller packages worth P5,000 given away to those who took part in the Kwento ng Pag-asa Laban sa Corona. On Easter Sunday, which fell on April 12, Skin Magical and Speaks G conducted a virtual egg hunt. A total of 14 winners received a cash prize of P3,000 from Skin Magical while Speaks G gave P3,000 to 10 lucky winners. On Mother’s Day last May 10, Pangilinan’s Nanay Ko To Gandang Palaban gave away 24 reseller packages worth P2,500.

“No one expected this to happen and this was my little way of sharing what I have with my employees, distributors and franchisees,” Pangilinan said. “I am thankful for their support and I would not be where I am if not for them.”

The Skin Magical COO did not forget to extend a helping hand to the community where her business is located in Morong. Rizal. She distributed rice to residents in Barangays San Pedro, San Juan, San Jose, Maybancal, CCL, Lagundi and Bombongan. She was also able to send out meals and essential products to the hospital frontliners of Rizal Provincial Hospital, Morong Doctors Hospital, Dialysis Center Morong, Quirino Memorial Medical Center and the frontliners of Pililia. Rizal and Abra. Lastly, relief efforts were also extended in Bulacan as an initiative of Mr. Jerry Pangilinan, Skin Magical CEO and husband of Ms. Ghie Pangilinan.

“Skin Magical truly cares about our people and our community and we should not forget the valuable contribution of our frontliners,” she said. “They are risking their lives to make sure that everyone is safe from this virus and we can do our share by just staying at home."

Kevin Mayer named CEO of TikTok

Tweet

• Mayer will serve as Chief Operating Officer of Bytedance and Chief Executive Officer of TikTok

• Mayer brings over 25 years experience, most recently as Disney's Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International

LOS ANGELES, MAY 19, 2020 - ByteDance Ltd. announced today it has named Kevin Mayer Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ByteDance and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TikTok, effective June 1. 

In his role as CEO of TikTok, Kevin will lead the rapidly growing platform as it continues to build its global community of creators, users, and brands. Kevin will report directly to ByteDance Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yiming Zhang. 

Commenting on the hire, Yiming said, "Kevin's wealth of experience building successful global businesses makes him an outstanding fit for our mission of inspiring creativity for users globally. As one of the world's most accomplished entertainment executives, Kevin is incredibly well placed to take ByteDance's portfolio of products to the next level. I look forward to working very closely with Kevin on our global development and the next chapter of the ByteDance story."

Kevin joins the company following a long and successful career at Disney (NYSE: DIS), most recently as Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International. As a key part of his role there, he oversaw the development and successful rollout of Disney+, the company's flagship streaming service. Additionally, Kevin led the company's other direct-to-consumer businesses, including Hulu, ESPN+, and Hotstar, as well as overseeing Disney's international operations, global ad sales, and global content sales.

Kevin said, "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to join the amazing team at ByteDance. Like everyone else, I've been impressed watching the company build something incredibly rare in TikTok – a creative, positive online global community – and I'm excited to help lead the next phase of ByteDance's journey as the company continues to expand its breadth of products across every region of the world. On a personal note, I'm thankful to the entire Disney team for the tremendous accomplishments we achieved together. I'm especially grateful to Bob Iger for his visionary leadership and mentorship over many years, and to Bob Chapek whom I greatly admire. As I begin a new chapter, I'm humbled by the trust Yiming and the Board have placed in me as we move forward with a shared vision of how to scale ByteDance's growth." 

Alex Zhu, the current President of TikTok, will transition to ByteDance VP of Product & Strategy, where he will focus on his primary passion overseeing strategy and product design.

As part of its commitment to rooting its operations in the local markets it serves, TikTok's national and regional leaders will remain in their roles with their current responsibilities, reporting in to Kevin, who will be responsible for the global business.

Tagaytay Highlands, a worthy investment in times of uncertainty

Tweet

Investing in real estate is still one of the wisest decisions that can be made these days. At this point when the global pandemic still has everyone in its grip, it is incredibly tough to manage and protect one’s wealth as capital flows and business acquisitions are expected to remain volatile. While few business opportunities are still fluid, there is nothing like a disruptive crisis to prove that Tagaytay Highlands remains a rational asset one can have for keeps.

The Grove at Plantation Hills East Pond (Artist's perspective) - Tagaytay Highlands properties combine the majestic beauty of nature with the finest man-made conveniences.

Tagaytay Highlands continues to enact measures to keep the community safe and healthy during these trying times—such as creating a COVID-19 task force, routine cleaning and disinfection, protection for club frontliners, regulated operation of facilities as per government-mandated guidelines, and ongoing clean-up efforts in the wake of the recent Taal calamity.

According to research on trends and insights citing the pandemic’s impact on global real estate, the property industry offers good risk-adjusted returns compared to other asset classes even despite various downturns.

Potential investors are seeing this in Tagaytay Highlands, a premier leisure development that continues to build themed residential communities. On its 25th year of upholding its premium standing in the real estate industry, Tagaytay Highlands proves to be a worthy investment for property seekers with its new projects, improvements in facilities and amenities, and the expansion of its existing portfolio.

Tagaytay Highlands Amenity (Artist's Perspective) - Tagaytay Highlands continues to innovate on and upgrade its amenities to ensure that its properties are worthy investments for all prospective buyers.

Purchasing a leisure home in Tagaytay Highlands means acquiring access to its prime location and contemporary facilities. With approximately 1,200 hectares of land area, Tagaytay Highlands remains to be the only mountain resort of its kind and scale, covering the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas. At 2,000 feet above sea level, the complex offers panoramic views of Taal Lake, Mt. Makiling, Canlubang Valley, and Laguna de Bay.

The development’s gated and themed residential enclaves are designed to achieve a balance between the majestic natural environment and man-made conveniences. These communities are primed for expansion, making them foremost choices for investment.

Garden Villas (Artist's Perspective) - Premier leisure development Tagaytay Highlands features themed residential communities amid tranquil settings.

Horizon Terraces recently launched Westchase, its latest expansion. A project that features modern Asian-themed garden suites, Westchase comes with shared access to Horizon Terraces’ amenities—a lush Central Garden, swimming pools, a playground, therapeutic walkways, private nooks, and terraced gardens.

In the pipeline is the completion of Horizon Terraces’ Garden Villas, a three-level townhouse development in the Midlands enclave. Its first cluster continues to undergo fast-track architectural and structural works.

As Tagaytay Highlands’ upscale farming community, The Grove at Plantation Hills shines as a leisure, residential and eco-farming concept-in-one. It offers orchard and garden lots ideal for growing fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables in the comforts of one’s own backyard.

Prospective investors will be happy to note that Tagaytay Highlands is on an intensive drive to innovate for its customers.

It recently reconditioned its Swiss-engineered cable cars and funicular train transport system, which remain unique to the complex to this day.

Recreational facilities and beverage outlets such as Peak Bar, Tagaytay Highlands Gold Club, The Country Club, and The Sports Center have also undergone renovation to improve its services to its residents, members, and guests.

For a better Tagaytay Highlands experience, the development has likewise expanded its dining options. Its well-loved restaurants now include Concha’s Garden Café, Amare La Cucina, Lime and Basil, Gourmet Farms, Kaya Korean Restaurant, Brera Delicatessen, and Aozora Japanese Café + Bistro, while Highlander Steakhouse, Highlands China Palace, and The Great Room of The Spa and Lodge remain to be culinary hot spots.

Investing in Tagaytay Highlands delivers higher appreciation for lot properties and condominiums.

About Tagaytay Highlands

Tagaytay Highlands is a leisure development of the SM Group of Companies. Nestled in the highest elevations of Tagaytay is a premier leisure destination that speaks of exclusivity and luxury, where stunning views and a breezy, cool climate come together to redefine relaxation.

For more information on how to own a Highlands home, please call +632 75052422 and +63917 5150158, or visit www.tagaytayhighlands.com. Follow us on Facebook, Tagaytay Highlands, and Instagram @tagaytayhighlandsofficial.