Ofbank digital accounts hit nearly 46k as of end-july

DEPOSIT accounts opened through the Overseas Filipino Bank’s (Ofbank) digital onboarding system has so far reached nearly 46,000, the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) said.

The state-run Landbank reported there were 25,648 new deposit accounts opened through Ofbank’s “digital on-boarding” (DOB) system with artificial intelligence (AI) from January to July this year.

Including the 19,887 accounts opened as of December 2020, total deposit accounts opened with the Ofbank stood at 45,535 as of end-july.

Launched in June 29 last year, the Ofbank is the Philippines’s first branchless and “digital-centric” government bank and is a whollyowned subsidiary of Landbank. The Landbank said Ofbank’s DOB system allows the real-time opening of a mobile banking deposit account on supported mobile or hand-held devices.

Besides deposits, the digital services available to Ofbank account holders include fund transfers, bill payments and government bond purchases, according to the Landbank.

The Ofbank secured from the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas its digital banking license last March 25. Its approved conversion to digital bank is the first phase of a 3-stage licensing framework of the BSP on the establishment of new digital banks.

Prior to securing its digital banking license, the Ofbank operated as a thrift bank.

The Ofbank was created under Executive Order 44 that was signed by President Duterte in September 2017, in fulfillment of the Chief Executive’s promise to put up a bank that would cater to Filipinos based overseas. The Philippine Statistics Authority estimated in 2019 there were about 2.21 million overseas Filipino workers.

The Ofbank is now about to complete the Stage-2 post-approval requirement of a digital bank as BSP already issued on July 08, 2021 a Certificate of Authority to Register with the Securities and Exchange Commission its amended Articles of Incorporation and By-laws.

Its global digital reach now spans 113 countries and territories, with its clients able to access online the services of 763 merchants “on-boarded ’ in its mobile application.

Its digital presence cover the top 10 destinations for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers, namely: Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Hong Kong; Qatar; Kuwait; Taiwan; Italy; Bahrain; and, Malaysia.

Merchants onboarded in Ofbank’s app include the following: 124 utility and service companies; 186 educational institutions; 277 government agencies and local government units; 140 cooperatives, associations, foundations and corporations; 20 hospitals, healthcare and/or clinics; and, 16 banks, credit card companies and insurance companies.