Philippine app MarCoPay to offer flights for sailors in Japan Airlines tie-up

Philippine startup MarCoPay will sell Japanese flight and tour packages in a partnership with Japan Airlines as the financial app broadens its offerings for well-paid but underserved merchant ship crews. MarCoPay lets sailors receive their wages and send money home electronically, as well as apply for loans from partner financial institutions. Its app seeks to serve a need among Filipino sailors who typically receive several months' worth of pay in cash at a port of arrival. MarCoPay's tie-up with JAL will help it branch out into travel. The app will offer perks including additional check-in luggage for flights from Manila to Tokyo. Tourism information for smaller Japanese cities also will be provided to offer a wide range of destinations. For JAL, the tie-up aims to bring more travelers to Japan, which fully reopened its border to international visitors in the fall. The Philippines is the world's largest supplier of merchant ship sailors, at over 200,000. Ship crews are in the top 5% of earners in the Southeast Asian country, with captains receiving about $8,000 a month. Though this niche market is attractive, sailors' long absences from home made it difficult for businesses to reach them.<br/>