DESPITE the gender pay gap, Filipino women working overseas send more funds for their children’s education than their male counterparts, a United Kingdom-based digital money transer company said on Monday.

Following a study with more than 1,000 respondents, WorldRemit said 92 percent of overseas Filipina workers considered education as “the most important reason for sending money home.”

It also said 72 percent were found extending financial aid to educate those outside their immediate family.

“We are also seeing that remittance funding creates a positive cycle, where [its]recipients…are using the opportunities their education has afforded them to support others,” said Michael Liu, regional director of WorldRemit Asia-Pacific.

Total remittances increased by 4.3 percent to $28.06 billion (P1.51 trillion) last year from 2016’s $26.9 billion (P1.42 trillion), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in February.

WorldRemit is expanding its services by offering international money transfers online.

Last year, the firm secured funds totaling $40 million (P2.12 billion) from equity investor LeapFrog Investments to support its expansion plans in Southeast Asia.

WorldRemit said it would prioritize its presence in the country, as it is the strongest in the region, adding that its expansion here would bolster its reach and create a least a hundred jobs next year.

The company is present in more 50 countries and sends transactions to 148 destinations.

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