BeamAndGo - The Easy Way to Send Remittances

Sending remittances to the Philippines had always been in the form or cash. OFWs also send balikbayan boxes which contain shirts, groceries and other stuff that their family needs in the Philippines. Things like these costs money and a lot of effort. Do you know that there is an easier way to take care of your family's needs here in the Philippines? Based on a study by BSP, 82% of the remittances of OFWs are intended for basic needs of their families (groceries, education, affordable medicine, school supplies, etc). Let us introduce you to BeamAndGo and our review of this online service.

BeamAndGo User Interface

One of the biggest problems of online platforms is their user interface that is why this is the first thing we did look at BeamAndGo. The process is very simple, all you have to do is visit www.beamandgo.com and then sign-up for free. You can fill out the form or directly connect it to your Facebook account.

What's good about BeamAndGo is upon sign-up all you have to do is confirm your e-mail and then begin shopping. The website offers tons of items for your loved ones in the Philippines including gadgets, medicines, fashion and grocery items.

You just need to select the supermarket or grocery and then select the number of GCs you want to purchase, then enter the name of your beneficiary and the contact details. After that, you can then pay conveniently via credit card, Pacific Ace, I-Remit, PNB, PayRemit or any remittance center overseas (please attach our payment options artwork). A couple of screenshots on the website will do.

BeamAndGo Redemption of GCs and Shopping Experience

I asked a friend to use the BeamAndGo website and try if we can really get a good shopping experience as what the website said. Upon selecting the GCS and paying for the amount, I immediately received an e-mail and an SMS notification which tells me that I received an electronic gift certificate.

The SMS confirmation comes in 3 message. Each message contains the sender name plus the serial number of the EGC. For this review, we have chosen Super * Supermarket since most of the time OFW families here in the Philippines are in need of daily supplies and groceries.

Upon arriving at Super 8 Novaliches Bayan, I went to the customer service in order to confirm the EGC and also know the process. I was told that I can use them and after shopping just call them again and they will assist me.

Shopping at Super 8 was very convenient. Also, I realized that the prices here are more affordable compared to other supermarkets. I could not believe that I was able to purchase lots of items with my Php1,500 worth of electronic GCs.

After shopping, we went to the cashier and then each item was punched. After that, a customer service personnel assisted us. She took note of each of the EGC serial numbers and then asked for one valid government ID. After validation, I was asked to sign the redemption slips and I am done. As easy as that. Wow! Amazing!

Here are additional redemption reminders to all:

For Metro Supermarket and Dep Store, the customer needs to proceed to the foreign exchange/credit department and show the SMS to the assigned personnel, who will key in codes in their desktop app. Once the codes have been validated, the assigned personnel will issue paper GCs.
For San Roque Supermarket - The codes are sent typically within 24 hours after the order is placed. The customer's chosen recipient can go to the assigned supermarket, choose and shop items he/she wishes to buy and then go to the cashier. They will need to just show the SMS with the codes to the cashier as payment.
For Super 8 - The codes are sent immediately (in real time). The customer's chosen recipient can go to the assigned supermarket, choose and shop items he/she wishes to buy and then go to the cashier. They will need to just show the SMS with the codes to the cashier as payment.

Personal Customer Experience of Using BeamAndGo

I thought it would really be a difficult and complex process but it is totally easy. Right after my friend send me the GC online, a friendly customer service agent contacted me to check whether the SMSs with the serial number and confirmation code were received. They also reminded me to provide a valid ID (government, school IDs, or senior citizen ID).

Using it at Super 9 Supermarket was totally easy. They have their own logbook for GCs purchased via BeamAndGo plus the customer service assistant makes sure that you get your GCs even when there are glitches.

FIlling out the Super 8 Redemption Form for BeamAndGo

Conclusion and Final Recommendation

I highly recommend using BeamAndGo to all our OFW friends. They have 22 supermarkets and department stores spread across the Philippines. Within the next 8 months, they are gearing up to sign more merchants in provinces with a high concentration of OFWs.

A Customer Service agent is always available (8:00am to 12:00pm) in their website chat and FB to respond to inquiries about available branches around the Philippines. Typical questions on "how to pay" are easily answered in the local Filipino language or even Bisaya.

For more information and updates you can visit the following:

Have you used BeamAndGo? Share us your own experience.

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