https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877920918597 International Journal of Cultural Studies 2020, Vol. 23(5) 787–802 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1367877920918597 journals.sagepub.com/home/ics Migrant platformed subjectivity: Rethinking the mediation of transnational affective economies via digital connectivity services Earvin Charles Cabalquinto and Guy Wood-Bradley Deakin University, Geelong, Australia Abstract This article investigates how commercial and government-based sectors in the Philippines deploy emotive mechanisms to promote the importance of connectivity services in addressing the affective and transnational needs of overseas Filipinos. By combining a walkthrough method with critical discourse analysis, the study compares and contrasts the interface, operating model and mode of governance of three selected case studies in the Philippines: Western Union, LBC Express Inc. and BaLinkBayan. The findings reveal that the emotionalising techniques of connectivity services construct what we call ‘platformed migrant subjectivity’. This conception articulates migrants as economic subjects and valued clientele within the commercial infrastructures and operations of an online platform. In sum, this article takes a nuanced approach to examine how commercial and government institutions utilise online platforms in mobilising emotional, transnational and digital transactions, which may redefine a migrant’s subjectivity, mobility and citizenship in a digital era. Keywords citizenship, emotionalising, migrant subjectivity, mobility, platform, remittance Corresponding author: Earvin Charles Cabalquinto, Deakin University – Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3126, Australia. Email: earvin.cabalquinto@deakin.edu.au 918597ICS 0 0 10.1177/1367877920918597International Journal of Cultural StudiesCabalquinto and Wood-Bradley research-article 2020 Special Issue: Migration, Digital Media, and Emotion