BDO: Cash Agad to help remote communities

LISTED BDO Unibank Inc. is optimistic that its Cash Agad service would contribute to the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

In a briefing on Friday, BDO Agency Banking head Jim Nasol said the Sy- led banking giant “is doing its part in helping communities recover economically through the Cash Agad network.”

Cash Agad is a service offered to far- flung and unbanked communities whose residents have little or no access to banking services. These communities include those in mountainous or hilly areas, or those on islands that could only be reached by boat.

By partnering with stores and shops already established in the community, BDO turns them into community- based automated teller machine ( ATM) terminals. The shop owner receives a point- of- sale terminal for use in transacting locally- issued ATM cards, whether debit or prepaid, and facilitates basic transactions like cash withdrawals and balance inquiries.

The Cash Agad partneragent network is made up of small to medium business owners in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao who are offering the Cash Agad service in their communities.

According to Nasol, Cash Agad promotes economic activities by providing additional income to its partners and encourage its clients to consume and spend, since they already have a cash on hand.

It also allows clients to save money since they do not have to spend for transportation costs just to withdraw from ATMs, he said. Clients would just have to pay a fee of P15 to P30 for within- the- city transactions, and P30 to P50 if outside the city.

“If the country’s economy is ever going to bounce back from the pandemic, it will take all of us — big businesses, MSMEs ( micro, small and medium enterprises), and both urban and rural communities and their local governments — to help each other and do our part. There’s a certain inspiration, a beautiful sort of hope when you see communities working together to rise up and recover from a crisis,” the bank executive added.

BDO shares closed flat at P87.50 each on Friday.