ILOILO CITY – In stride with extending greater financial access to Western Visayans, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) onboarded two new LANDBANKasama Partners on 7 December 2023 at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Iloilo City.
Under the LANDBANKasama Program, the state-run Bank is partnering with client cooperatives, associations, rural banks, local government units (LGUs), micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and private entities to help provide basic banking services on behalf of the Bank to areas with limited or no accessible banks.
The new LANDBANKasama Partners – Hinigaran Multi-Purpose Cooperative (HMPC) and Guimaras Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (GEMPC) – will enable Western Visayans to enjoy convenient banking services without having to travel long distances to other towns to transact at the nearest LANDBANK branch.
“Through LANDBANKasama, we are leveraging the power of digital banking and strategic local partnerships to provide basic banking services to remote, underserved, and unbanked communities nationwide. We look to advance greater financial access to clients and stakeholders who need our services the most,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Lynette V. Ortiz.
President Ortiz led the LANDBANKasama rollout with Provincial Government of Iloilo Vice Governor Christine S. Garin and Administrator Dr. Raul N. Banias, and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Regional Director Joselito G. Estember. They were joined by new LANDBANKasama Partners represented by HMPC Project Manager Happy Elaine G. Aguilar and GEMPC Manager Raymundo Lao, alongside LANDBANK Director Nancy D. Irlanda, and First Vice Presidents Vivian M. Cañonero and Ma. Elenita N. Manucom, among other local and LANDBANKasama Partners.
The HMPC touchpoint located at San Agustin Heights, Brgy. Narauis, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, will help serve the banking requirements of all 24 barangays and nearby municipalities of Isabela and Pontevedra.
Meanwhile, the GEMPC partner at San Miguel, Jordan, is expected to bring financial access closer to all of the five municipalities of Guimaras, namely Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag.
Financial inclusivity through innovative partnerships
LANDBANKasama is a rebrand of the Bank’s Agent Banking Program (ABP), called as such to better captures the goals of the Program to create strategic points of banking access and promote collaboration towards expanding financial inclusion.
LANDBANKasama Partners offer various services including cash withdrawal, cash deposit, fund transfer, bills payment, and balance inquiry, and benefit beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program of the DSWD, as well as government employees, teachers, students, and other private clients in the area.
Aside from LANDBANK prepaid accounts, LANDBANKasama also now allows clients to make transactions using their LANDBANK savings accounts.
The Program also seeks to empower and benefit customers through lower transaction costs, and enable potential savings on travel and associated expenses for clients located outside of municipal or city centers.
With the onboarding of the two partner cooperatives, LANDBANK has a network of 1,086 LANDBANKasama Partners nationwide, 129 of which are in the Western Visayas Region.
LANDBANK remains steadfast with its commitment to deliver innovative and inclusive financial services to all Filipinos, extending its reach to serve even the most remote communities nationwide.
