In order to constantly provide a smooth and great customer experience, the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has announced plans to further extend both its physical and digital presence in underserved and unbanked regions.
The announcement was made during simple rites to celebrate the bank’s 60 years of public service to the nation.
IMAGE CREDIT: https://pia.gov.ph/
In her speech, Lynette V. Ortiz, President and CEO of LANDBANK, said that the bank will keep advancing access to trustworthy, useful, and practical financial services in order to assist the national government’s development plan.
“We are implementing a phygital strategy to meet the changing needs and tastes of our customers with increasing expenditures in boosting our digital services and expanding our physical touchpoints,” Ortiz said. “As we work to integrate more Filipinos into the financial system, LANDBANK is prepared to reach and service a larger customer base.”
Bringing financial services closer to Filipinos
In order to bring financial services closer to Filipinos, LANDBANK, the only bank operating in each of the 82 provinces in the country, said that it plans to open physical touchpoints in each of the 1,634 cities and municipalities across the nation.
LANDBANK has a total of 2,951 automated teller machines (ATMs), 226 cash deposit machines (CDMs), 1,785 Agent Banking Partner POS cash-out terminals, 606 branches and branch-lite units, plus 58 lending centers and 1,785 ATMs as of June 30, 2023.
LANDBANK is currently present in 1,396 cities and municipalities across the nation (about 85.4%). These locations include Sallapadan in Abra, Barlig in Mountain Province, Tamparan in Lanao del Sur, Anahawan in Southern Leyte, and Kinoguitan in Misamis Oriental, all of which were previously unbanked.
In order to boost operational effectiveness, raise the convenience of doing business, and improve the delivery of important public services, LANDBANK is also looking to integrate all government offices into its digital platforms as part of the government’s push toward digitalization.
The bank also enrolled 180 government organizations in its Link.BizPortal payment network between January and June 2023, and it facilitated 96.5 million transactions, totaling P3.9 trillion, through all of its digital channels.
Additionally, LANDBANK has been collaborating closely with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to offer unbanked PhilSys registrants their own transaction accounts without requiring an initial investment.
As of June 2023, 8.35 million previously unbanked Filipinos have already been enrolled by the bank in the formal banking system providing them with easy access to fund management and financial transactions like cash withdrawals, fund transfers, and online bill payments.
LANDBANK has since made substantial efforts to lower the cost of digital banking — most notably by lowering the transaction costs from P25 to P15 for online fund transfers to other banks made through InstaPay.
The bank has also increased the maximum daily amount for InstaPay fund transfers from P50,000.00 to P100,000.00, but subject to a P50,000.00 limit per transaction.
This year, LANDBANK commemorates 60 years of improving lives, empowering communities, and serving the country in the pursuit of creating a sustainable and inclusive economy. LANDBANK was established on August 8, 1963, by virtue of Republic Act No. 3844 also known as the “Agricultural Land Reform Code.”