Rural bank to accept Visa, KFTC cards

the rural banking arm of BDO unibank inc. announced that its network of automated teller machines (atms) can now accept Visa and Korea Financial telecommunications and Clearings institute (KFTC) international cards.

BDO network Bank said this recent development is allowing the bank to serve more atm cardholders with internationally-issued cards.

these cardholders, BDO said, can withdraw and inquire about their account balance from over 250 atms across the country.

“the widening variety of atm acceptance complements our continuous expansion, which in turn is part of our thrust to reach more unserved and underserved markets,” BDO network Bank President jesus antonio s. itchon said.

KFTC is a payment settlement institution in Korea while Visa is a globalpayments technology.

itchon said that with rural banks accepting more international cards, more foreigners in the major tourist spots can benefit as well. he even noted that Koreans account for the country’s top foreign arrivals since 2010.

shares in BDO climbed by 0.12 percent, or 10 centavos, to close at P87.05 each amid the 0.17-percent slip for the benchmark index on thursday.

the bank said it was eyeing to double the number of its branches in the next four years as it boosts lending to small and medium enterprises.

its parent BDO unibank saw its net profits declined to P4.3 billion in the first half from P20.1 billion year-on-year as it earmarked higher provisions for bad loans. reser ves for potential credit losses reached P22.4 billion as of end-june.

total capital base for the period stood at P367.billion with capital adequacy ratio at P13.8 percent and common equity tier 1 ratio at 12.7 percent. Both are above the minimum regulatory requirement and deemed enough to fund asset growth and regular quarterly dividends.

BDO network Bank also accepts Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus and Bancnet cardholders. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad