The Overseas Filipino Bank finally opened last Thursday, January 18, 2018, which aims to cater to the needs of the millions of overseas Filipino workers.
OFBank, a wholly-owned Savings Bank subsidiary of LBP, is dedicated to provide financial products and services tailored to the needs of OFWs. It will offer 15 banking products and services ranging from deposit, loans and investment to payment and remittance to OFWs and their beneficiaries.
We know you have a lot of question about this bank and we will provide you important information, so read on…
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Was there a need to establish an Overseas Filipino Bank?
Yes, there is a need to establish a government policy bank that will focus specifically in servicing the various banking and financing requlre111onts of Overseas Filipinos.
2. What prompted the creation of OFBank?
This is the fulfilment of a promise President Rodrigo R. Duterte made to Overseas Filipino Workers in Tokyo, Japan when he visited them on October 25, 2016.
Cognizant of this, President Duterte directed the President and CEO of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) to initiate the acquisition of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank, Inc. (PostBank) as its wholly-owned subsidiary bank and later convert it into a bank for Overseas Filipinos.
Executive Order 44 was signed on 28 September 2017 which approved the acquisition of PostBank by LANDBANK and conversion of PostalBank into Overseas Filipino Bank.
The OFBank shall operate as a full-service thrift bank engaging in various banking activities consistent with the provisions of R.A. No. 7906 otherwise known as the Thrift Banks Act of 1995.
3. What will be the scope of operations of OF Bank?
The OFBank will operate both on the international and domestic fronts, serving the remittance, deposit, investment, payment and loan requirements of Overseas Filipinos.
On the international front, the OFBank will deploy foreign representative inside Philippine Embassies and Consular Offices with significant concentration of Overseas Filipinos. Within the second quarter of this year, OFBank will open three foreign representative offices inside the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, inside the Philippine Consular Office in Dubai, and inside the Philippine Consular Office in Bahrain.
The OFBank representatives will primarily engage in non-commercial activities such as information dissemination about products and services to Overseas Filipinos in various countries. These Representative will also conduct financial literacy campaigns and seminars and other collaborative activities with representatives of government agencies in support of various initiatives and programs for Overseas Filipinos.
For its domestic operations, the OFBank will operate through one NCR branch based in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila and through 423 LANDBANK branches and extension offices nationwide.
4. What are the products and services to be offered by OFBank to Overseas Filipinos?
15 OFBank Products and Services
OFBank will soon offer a wide range of banking products -from loans, deposits, investment, to payment and remittance services. These 15 products and services, powered by LANDBANK, are tailored to address the needs of Overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries.
1. Remittance Service for them to remit money to their beneficiaries through the cheapest, fastest, secured and most-convenient mobile credit-to-account system.
2. Investment Products
– Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF)
– Preferred Shares
3. Payment Services for Overseas Filipinos to pay from abroad their SSS, OWWA, PhilHealth dues, insurance premiums, credit cards, telephone and water bills, housing and business loans, and tuition fees of their beneficiaries directly to the payees in the Philippines.
4. Loan Products to be made available for Overseas Filipinos and the beneficiaries to build their own homes, to start their own businesses and to cover emergency needs
– Business Loan
– Housing Loan
– All-Purpose Personal Loan
– Study Now Pay Later Loan
5. Deposit products for Overseas Filipinos to develop the habit of saving:
– Regular Peso ATM Savings Account
– Regular Peso Time Deposit Account
– Peso Checking Account
– Future Need Savings Plan
– OFW ID cum ATM card
The above 15 products and services make OFBank superior to other banks, most of which only offer remittance service.
5. Will physical branches/offices be established in other countries?
Initially, OFBank representatives will be deployed in selected Philippine Embassies and Consular Offices with significant concentration of Overseas Filipinos.
In the second quarter of 2018, OFBank operations will be piloted in Dubai, Bahrain and Abu-Dhabi. OFBank will have its Representative Offices in the Philippine Embassy in Abu-Dhabi, in the Philippine Consular Office in Dubai, and in the Philippine Consular Office in Bahrain.
6. For countries with no physical branches/offices, how will Overseas Filipinos avail of OFBank services?
For countries without deployed OFBank representatives, Overseas Filipinos can tap the network of LANDBANK’s established remittance partners abroad through mobile internet banking.
7. How different will OFBank’s remittance services be from other remittance providers? What are the benefits?
OFBank will work to provide the cheapest, secured and most-convenient credit-to-account remittance system provider.
OFBank also delivers 15 products and services that are tailored to the needs of Overseas Filipinos (refer to # 3) while most of the other banks only offer remittance service.
8. Will non-Overseas Filipinos be accommodated as clients? (e.g. for deposits and investment products)
All non-overseas Filipinos are invited to also avail of the 15 products and services of OFBank.
9.If overseas Filipino beneficiaries do not reside in the NCR, where will they transact?
Beneficiaries of Overseas Filipinos may transact with LANDBANK Branches and Lending Centers outside of the NCR.
