The number of unbanked national ID registrants onboarded by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) to the formal banking system has reached 4.47 million as of end-June, the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement yesterday.
The DOF said based on a report from the state lending institution, it has so far onboarded 47 percent of the 9,484,696 individuals who had already registered in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) from 884 sites in 32 provinces.
As of June 30, 2021, 1.23 million or 27 percent of the onboarded applicants have received their LandBank Agent Banking Cards (ABCs).
According to the DOF, LandBank records show that Philsys registrants who were issued cards are already using these for various transactions.
As of June 30, 2021, the DOF said a total of 4,338 Philsys registrants made 8,099 transactions overthecounter, or through mobile banking apps, point of sale and online. Majority of the transactions were conducted in the Visayas as well as in Central Luzon.
“These cards are provided free of charge and with no initial deposit requirement to PhilSys applicants in areas where the LandBank has co-located with the Philippine Statistics Authority in PhilSys registration sites across the country,” the DOF said.
LandBank said facilitating the opening of bank accounts for PhilSys registrants will help ensure the speedy and efficient delivery of future government assistance programs to unbanked beneficiaries.
The ABCs can be used by Philsys ID holders to withdraw cash at ATMs and point-of-sale cash-out terminals, shop online and perform other cashless transactions, as well as receive any government subsidy digitally.
The card is also contactless-enabled, which means it can be used for “tap” payments, such as for the Automated Fare Collection System that the government plans to roll out for public utility vehicles.
As for the bank’s other digital transformation initiatives, LandBank reported that since November 2018 up to end-June 2021, 1.67 million accounts were opened through its Digital Onboarding System, which includes accounts opened for clients of the Overseas Filipino Bank, a LandBank subsidiary that is the first digital-only bank in the country.
For the month of June 2021, accounts opened reached 68,863, higher than the 67,889 accounts opened in the previous month.
LandBank also noted a sustained increase in the number of transactions using the LandBank Mobile Banking App, from 31.97 million transactions last June 2020 to 47.03 million in June 2021. — Angela Celis
