Inspired by the sacrifices made by her mother, Taptap Send’s country launcher Faye Sta. Ana Corpuz aims to honor Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) by providing fast, reliable and cost-efficient remittance services for these modern-day heroes and their families.
By Maan D’Asis Pamaran
With their hard-earned remittances that fund their families’ dreams of a better life, it’s no wonder that OFWs are regarded as modern-day heroes. In fact, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that personal remittances from this sector rose to a record breaking $ 37.2 billion in 2023, up by three percent from the previous year. This accounted for 8.5 percent of the country’s GDP and 7.7 percent of its gross national income.
Still, one must remember that these golden numbers are also built on every OFW’s resilience and determination — even in the face of struggles that could start from something as simple as, say, remitting their hard-earned money to their loved ones at home.
The second of three children of an OFW herself, Taptap Send Philippines country launcher Faye Sta. Ana Corpuz knows the importance of ensuring timely remittances. It has, after all, been a constant part of her family’s routine, with her mother Gigi working in Dubai’s retail industry for the past 23 years. “My mom left us in the care of my grandmother when my brother was only two years old. Since then, she has single-handedly provided for us. And it really presented a challenge when these remittances were delayed,” she shares.
To cope with such delays, she and her family had to transfer from one rental to another and rely on the kindness of relatives and neighbors for fnancial help. “I would often give the school registrar promissory notes, because we didn’t receive our remittance yet. I had to take on odd jobs like tutoring the neighborhood kids for my allowance,” she narrates.
There were also challenges when claiming the money their mother sent, she says. From an inadequate supply of cash to skyrocketing service fees, to the sheer inconvenience of having to look for a one-stop reliable remittance partner — the list goes on. According to her, their family had paid around P500,000 on remittance fees in the past 23 years. “That would have been enough for us to buy a small house and lot, which we still do not have,” she laments.
No sob story
Fully aware of the sacrifces her mother made, Faye took her studies seriously. “When I passed the entrance requirements for the University of Santo Tomas (UST) High School in Manila, my mama was so proud — in our whole street in Sampaloc, I was the only one who was going to study there — but I knew that in the back of her mind, she was already worried about the tuition fees,” says Faye, who also earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from UST.
While initially gearing up to be a lawyer, Faye eventually took part in the Deutsche Bank graduate program, which landed her a good job in investment banking for two years. “My mom always felt that she could not return home, because her child has lofty life ambitions. I was very eager and willing to share her burden as soon as I started working,” she recalls.
Mother and daughter were soon reunited when the latter few to Dubai in November 2017. A start-up company called Careem, which focuses on rides and deliveries, had hired Faye. There, she rose from finance intern to senior marketing executive in five years.
All this time, she was growing her presence on business and employment-focused social media platform LinkedIn, where she shared her personal stories with a relatable point of view. “I was posting about my engagement in sports and how it connected with my career, then I started getting noticed. I was listed as one of the top 100 Infuential Filipinas on LinkedIn. This was how I was discovered by a headhunter who introduced me to Taptap Send,” she says.
Taptap Send specializes in providing convenient and reliable remittance services — a cause that resonated well within this aspiring tech-preneur. And even though she had just given birth at that time, the plum new role — and everything that came along with it — convinced her to buckle up and get ready for the ride.
A helping hand for her kababayans
Giving back to the OFW community was also on top of Faye’s mind when she signed up as Taptap Send Philippines country launcher based in Dubai. “My mom is an OFW, and I am a second-generation OFW myself. My dream is for my baby to break that cycle of having to leave home to provide for family, so this really means a lot to me,” she explains.
Faye believes that she brings heart into the operations, going beyond numbers and metrics and instilling a deeply rooted purpose of helping others. And the result speaks for itself. As Taptap Send CEO Michael Faye said earlier in the year, “the Philippines has become the company’s fastest growing corridor” that was able to hit a billion-dollar run rate in just 21 months, a company record in their six years of operation.
“I believe my work here is a breath of fresh air in the industry. Not only am I a woman in fintech, but I truly understand our demographic and their needs as an OFW myself. I am happy with our very supportive management team, whose members put importance in merit and performance,” adds Faye, who currently handles the company’s business in the United States, Europe, Canada, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
In December, Taptap Send will also start receiving remittances from Australia to the Philippines. The company has also formed linkages with leading banks and remittance institutions such as Cebuana Lhuiller, Maya, Asia United Bank and GCash, to make the
process more convenient. What’s more, it charges zero transaction fees on banks and
mobile wallets. “I keep going back to the deductions that we experienced before, in which the fees could have been used to buy our necessities and basic needs,” she says.
With her work in fntech, she wants more Filipino OFWs and their families to understand fnancial literacy. “I think the families of the OFWs who receive the remittance have the responsibility to save and maybe even invest. This was something that we were not able to do. There is nothing permanent, especially in transit countries. So, the responsibility of the family is to ensure that its breadwinner will have a better life when he or she returns to the Philippines. I suggest an explicit agreement on how long the OFW stays abroad, and they budget everything so they can come home earlier instead of working there for so many years,” she advises.
Family matters
Outside of Taptap Send, Faye is also raising her daughter Sebastienne, with her supportive husband Darwin — a fellow OFW. Darwin worked as a rescue diver before deciding to become a full-time, hands-on dad.
In this new journey, she can’t help but look back with gratitude on her mother’s journey — one flled with love, devotion and sacrifces.
“My mom is going to retire next year. We are just waiting for my brother to graduate and take his board exam. We are extending my husband’s family house in Bulacan for her. If she wants to travel or start a business, it is all up to her. I also paid of all her loans. She will never have to worry about fnances again. She has been alone for so long, and now, it is our turn to take care of her, as our way of honoring the hardships that she went through for us,” she concludes.
Photography by Dix Perez
Styling by Myrrh Lao-To, Josh Galang and Carlie Lajara
Hair and makeup by Romel Zausa and Janell Capuchino
