Overseas Filipino Bank opens next month — DOF

MANILA, Philippines — The state-run Overseas Filipino Bank is expected to be fully operational as a digital bank by the end of June, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

During a recent online hearing conducted by the House of Representatives Defeat COVID-19 Committee (DCC), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Land Bank of the Philippines has reaffirmed its commitment to have the country’s first ever digital-only and branchless bank up and running by the end of next month.

“We set up this OF Bank a couple of years ago. We’ve had problems with the technology but I think with Cecile’s leadership, we are almost ready to launch,” Dominguez said, referring to Landbank president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo.

The Landbank chief also confirmed this during the DCC meeting, adding that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given the go-signal for the remote opening of accounts in the OF Bank.

In an earlier report to Dominguez, she said the BSP granted last Jan. 30 a “No Objection” Clearance to the OF Bank on the use of its Digital Onboarding System (DOBS), which utilizes artificial intelligence to facilitate an electronic know-your-customer process.

Dominguez also told lawmakers that the government is ready to launch the Electronic Receipt and Invoicing, and Electronic Sales Reporting System by the third quarter of the year.

“The biggest (digitalization) program we’re working on now is e-invoicing. Once we get that e-invoicing program set up, that will mean a big step in e-governance already,” Dominguez said.

“We have been working on that for the last year or so, and we should come to a conclusion, a good program by the middle of, or maybe the third quarter of this year,” he added.

The finance chief said this in response to a recommendation by Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte for the government to strengthen and expand its digital-based programs for frontline services.

In September 2017, President Duterte issued Executive Order 44, authorizing Landbank to acquire Philippine Postal Savings Bank (Postbank). In compliance with the EO, Postbank was converted into the Overseas Filipino Bank.

The OF Bank is envisioned to be a digital-only facility, which will enable overseas Filipinos to access a wide array of financial and investment products.

Meanwhile, the e-invoicing program is part of the efforts of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to digitize its tax administration and collection system.

Dominguez said the system will complement the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) to make the tax system simpler, fairer and more efficient.