BDO Unibank, the country’s biggest bank, continues to find ways for its bank services to be accessible in areas covered by the prevailing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
With the roving ATM on Wheels, bank clients are still able to perform various transactions like balance inquiry, cash withdrawal, cash advance, BDO cash card reload, prepaid mobile reload, fund transfer, donation, activation of online banking enrolment and 3rd party fund transfer and pin change.
The ATM on Wheels, which is available from 11am to 6pm, accepts both local and international cards.
The ATM on Wheels recently went to Anonas in Quezon City, Bagbaguin in Caloocan, and Pasig City. I was also deployed to Savemore Branch in Camarin, Caloocan and to Savemore Branch in Novaliches.
“BDO is positioning ATM on Wheels in areas where our branches are closed or in areas where there are no nearby ATMs,” the bank said.
BDO, meanwhile, continues to encourage its clients to bank from home and enroll to BDO Online Banking.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), alongside the various banks, have been encouraging clients to bank online over visiting their branches particularly at this time when the entire country is moving to flatten the COVID-19 curve.
Online banking, the BSP adds, promotes social distancing and helps accountholders avoid face-to-face interactions.
To guide clients who may be banking online for the first time, the bank promotes how-to videos on its YouTube page and has helpful posts on its Facebook page and official website.
Scammers, however, are taking advantage of the lockdown situation and the added online banking usage. Upping their ante, their attacks now are more sophisticated than ever–their grammar is correct; their communication style is convincingly professional; their fake websites look exactly like their legitimate counterparts. As a result, many, especially first-time users of online banking, are getting victimized and losing their money.
The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) already called on accountholders to be more vigilant: “There have been emails going around informing clients of account deactivation and asking clients to click on a link to prevent deactivation due to COVID-19. We would like to advise against doing so since it will compromise your account security… Banks will never request for your sensitive information.”
BDO empowers its clients with information that teaches them how to be smarter than scammers. It exposes scam attacks, reminds about the things legitimate bank officers will never do or ask for, and shares defenses such as never sharing personal information and never clicking on links to verify their bank accounts.
Clients who have been scammed, or even just suspect of being scammed, can get in touch with BDO by emailing customercare@bdo.com.ph.
