MANILA — For millions of Filipino families, Christmas is the most sacred and highly anticipated holiday of the year. Yet, behind the festive lights and early holiday carols lies a sobering reality: seasonal data reveals that only about 5% of Overseas Filipinos are actually able to fly home to the Philippines for the holidays.
Addressing this reality head-on, Taptap Send—a fast and zero-transfer fee remittance app that allows Filipinos living in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to transfer money directly to the Philippines—is stepping up to help families reunite.
While the homeland celebrates the longest Christmas season in the world, the final quarter of the year represents the most demanding work period for global Pinoys. Driven by skyrocketing holiday airfares, grueling Q4 workplace targets, and rising family expenses back home, the vast majority of overseas workers choose to stay behind, making a silent sacrifice for their families. It is during this very season that global remittance transfers reach their absolute peak, serving as a physical manifestation of long-distance love.
Recognizing these quiet struggles, digital remittance trailblazer Taptap Send has partnered with GoTyme Bank and Cebu Pacific to launch its highly anticipated “It’s Tyme to Come Home” Christmas campaign.
As a centerpiece of the campaign, Taptap Send is rolling out an emotional 4-part short film series that chronicles the relatable journey of an overseas professional navigating the bittersweet tension of the holiday season. From scratching out “Flight Ticket” on her budget notebook month over month, to managing the isolation of watching coworkers plan their homecomings, the series captures the real-world choices most Filipinos working abroad make every single day.
This campaign carries a deep layer of authenticity as it was conceptualized and produced entirely by an all-Filipino creative team of Overseas Filipinos who poured their own firsthand personal experiences, heartaches, and triumphs of living away from home into every frame of the project.
“Our partnership with GoTyme Bank makes it even easier for overseas Filipinos to send money home through one of the fastest-growing and most trusted digital banks in the Philippines. This collaboration is especially meaningful as a way to give back to our Overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries this season,” said Faye Sta. Ana-Corpuz, Head of the Philippines & Regional Growth Manager for Southeast Asia at Taptap Send. To help reunite families, the homecoming promo runs from September 16 to November 30, 2026. Users qualify by sending at least ₱5,000 (or foreign equivalent) via Taptap Send to a GoTyme Bank account. Entries are unlimited, with grand prizes including two round-trip economy flights to the Philippines, transfers from the airport to their hometown, a family salu-salo, and ₱20,000 cash. Taptap Send will announce the winners around the 2nd week of December, just in time for Christmas homecoming. Full terms and conditions can be found here.
The Taptap Send app is available for download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, offering secure, fast, and zero-transfer fee* remittances to GoTyme Bank accounts and other major networks in the Philippines.
*no transfer fee on eligible bank and mobile wallet transfers to the Philippines. FX rates apply.
TapTap Send Payments Co., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the Banking Department of the State of New York. NMLS ID: 2108069; T T S Financial Services Middle East L.L.C, incorporated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, commercial license number 1601866, registered office at Office No. 1.03, Dubai World Trade Centre Commercial LLC, Trade Centre 2, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Licensed and regulated by the UAE Central Bank to offer stored value facilities, exchange business and retail payment service; Taptap Send Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 21 675 932 386) Australian Financial Services Licence No. 559468, and Taptap Send Bahrain B.S.C is authorized and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as a payment service provider. Address: Office 2944, Level 29, United Tower, Building 316, Road 4609, Block 346, Manama, Water Bay, Kingdom of Bahrain.
**Sources:
Survey on Overseas Filipinos | Philippine Statistics Authority
Overseas Filipino workers and the holiday season | Philippine News Agency
