PawnHero.ph: The Pawnshop Right At Your Fingertips

pawnhero - margendorff

You already do everything online, but did you know that you can pawn items online now too? The first online pawnshop in Southeast Asia, PawnHero.ph, recently opened right here in the Philippines. And even though they’ve only been running for a few months, they’re already giving traditional pawnshops a run for their money.

Here in the Philippines, only two out of 10 people have a bank account and less than 5% have a credit card. So when they need money for short-term needs, their options are extremely limited and often involve high interest rates, like traditional pawnshops.

PawnHero, a fully licensed pawnbroker registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, aims to solve that problem. By providing an easy way for Filipinos to pawn their items online, PawnHero can be a solution to short-term cash needs. With 44 million Filipinos estimated to be regular internet users, simple online access to credit can help them overcome financial emergencies.

“We provide an easy, fair, and convenient way of overcoming short­-term cash needs. This is a completely new way of doing business in the industry,” says PawnHero chairman and co-founder David Margendorff. They’ve partnered with 2GO and Security Bank, trusted names in shipping and banking respectively, to provide this service to Filipinos all over the country.

Even though PawnHero only launched this year, they’re already getting a lot of returning customers, and have received over P60 million in loan requests. “That means we must be doing something right,” Margendorff says.

Want to learn more about PawnHero and how it works? Read on:

Why Choose PawnHero Over Traditional Pawnshops?

pawnhero - Items We Accept

Only some of the items PawnHero accepts.

  • Lower interest rates. Traditional pawnshops can charge anywhere from 4 to 6% a month, with additional fees besides. PawnHero only charges a 2.99% flat monthly interest rate, the lowest amongst pawnshops in the Philippines.
  • No service charge, hidden costs, or penalty fees. With PawnHero, all you’ll have to worry about is the monthly interest rate. For example, if you’re offered P10,000 for your item and your loan is for 4 months, PawnHero will transfer P8,800 to your account, withholding the P300/month interest upfront. After the loan duration, simply pay P10,000 to redeem your item.
  • Accepts a wider range of items, with higher appraisals. PawnHero accepts more items than traditional pawnshops, giving you more options when it comes to your short-term cash needs. “We accept personal items such as gadgets, electronics, as well as mobile phones and others. And now you can pawn these discreetly, without leaving the comfort of your home,” Margendorff says. For a list of items PawnHero accepts, check out their “Items We Accept” section. Their centralized appraisal center will provide appraisals that are “accurate, objective and among the highest in the Philippines.”
  • Hassle-free. Don’t have time to go to the pawnshop? Your pawned item will be picked up by 2GO at your home for free. “The time-consuming part of traveling to a pawnshop is the past; simply go online,” according to Margendorff. Once you’ve paid your bill, the item will be shipped back to you in perfect condition, fully insured and still for free. If you live in Metro Manila, inquire about a loan in the morning, and accept the PawnHero offer before noon, they’ll even pick up the item on the same day.

How To Use PawnHero

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You can pawn your item in three simple steps:

1. Post Item. Go to PawnHero.ph and take or upload pictures of your item, and the system will give you an appraisal within minutes. To get the highest valuation, upload three pictures of your item from different angles. Then describe your item with as much detail as you can, and provide an email address and phone number and PawnHero will contact you with their appraisal.

2. Get Cash. Once you’ve accepted PawnHero’s estimate, you can either schedule a pickup via 2GO Express, or drop off your items at your nearest 2GO Express branch. At pickup, you will be provided with a free PawnHero Card from Security Bank, through which your loan will be paid out. “You need not have a bank account. We will provide you with a free PawnHero Card, a debit card you can use at any ATM nationwide, shop at any Bancnet-accredited merchant, or online store. Your money will be deposited to your account immediately after we have received and appraised your item,” Margendorff explains.

If you’d rather not use the PawnHero Card, you can arrange to have the amount deposited into your bank account, though this will take a few days longer.

3. Pay Loan. When you repay your loan, your items will be shipped back to you fully insured and free of shipping charge. You can repay your loan via the following methods:

  • through the provided PawnHero card
  • through the bank accounts indicated on your pawn ticket

More Than Just An Online Pawnshop

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Soon, you’ll be able to sell your items through PawnHero as well. And not content with disrupting the pawnshop industry, Margendorff has his sights set on other financial services to make them more accessible for Filipinos without bank accounts. “Soon we are launching online bills payment, mobile phone load, and remittances platform. The latter will disrupt the remittances business who charge on average 7-10 percent, since we are charging a flat fee of P49 only, no matter how much money one is sending.”

For Filipinos who need cash but don’t have access to more complicated resources like personal loans from banks, PawnHero steps in to fill the void. With a simple, hassle-free transaction process, even those without bank accounts can enjoy the benefits. “We empower financial inclusion,” says Margendorff. With PawnHero, financial empowerment is right at your fingertips.

PawnHero.ph is Southeast Asia’s first online pawnshop, launched in March 2015. It is an online platform allowing Filipinos to pawn their items hassle-free and providing them with ways to access financial tools like loans and remittances. To learn more, visit pawnhero.ph.

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