Landbank rural presence grows

by Janine Mayers · Published September 21, 2022 · Updated February 13, 2024

1 June 2022

Cecilia Borromeo, president and CEO of Landbank, stated Wednesday that UCPB Savings Bank (USB) branches would be enlisted as agent banking partners in underserved areas.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank rural) has expanded its services to areas by converting the rural branches of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) into agent banking partners.

Cecilia Borromeo, president and CEO of Landbank, stated Wednesday that UCPB Savings Bank (USB) branches would be enlisted as agent banking partners in underserved areas.

According to Borromeo, 57 USB branches will be registered as Landbank rural agent banking partners by June, with 20 of them serving communities that the state-owned bank has yet to reach.

A USB branch can provide basic services including card sale, cash in, cash out, fund transfer, and bill payment as an agent banking partner. Customers will save money on banking and travel because they will no longer need to go to a Landbank branch to complete their transactions.

Beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) and unconditional cash transfer (UCT) programs can now withdraw their funds from USB locations

CCT and UCT subsidies are distributed by Landbank’s agent banking partners.

Landbank gave cash cards to around 10 million Filipinos receiving CCT and UCT as of March, allowing them to withdraw their government benefits.

Landbank distributed a total of P133.61 billion in cash grants to over seven million Filipinos enrolled in the CCT and UCT programs in 2021.

Borromeo anticipates Landbank’s reach to expand nationwide with the inclusion of USB branches as agent banking partners, particularly in places where financial services are rare.

According to Borromeo, as of March, the state-owned bank had at least 907 agent banking partners around the Philippines. Associations, cooperatives, local government entities, small and medium enterprises, and rural banks are among the agent banking partners.

Agent banking partners facilitated 1.3 million transactions worth P4.6 million from January to March, according to data. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas allows agent banking partners to provide financial services in distant and underserved communities.