“Cashless payments” for BI transactions

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration-District-7 is now implementing “cashless payments” for various fees that is made through an automated teller machine or a prepaid card.

“We have implemented this since last week and so far, maayo man ang dagan,” said BI-District 7 alien control officer Casimiro Madarang III.

Madarang said that BI-7’s office in Cebu was made as a pilot area for the new program.

“Mas nindot og convenient ni kay ang mga clients di na kinahanglan magdala og cash para mobayad. Ang ilang ATM or prepaid card, mao na ang i-swipe as a form of payment,” Madarang said.

It can be recalled that Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison formalized the memorandum of agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines last month on the establishment of point-of-sale terminals at the BI offices.

The POS terminals honor ATM and debit cards under the Bancnet network and other compatible systems such as Megalink and Expressnet.

The use of ATM or debit cards in various transactions marks another innovation of the office in a bid to cut red tape and bribery.

“We have decided that we can take advantage of the available technology and, consequently, the usual exchange of cash and the age old practice of bribery or grease money is eliminated, once and for all,” said Mison in a separate press statement.

Mison added that the ATM payments on site will speed up transactions like foreigners’ annual reporting, visa extensions and applications, among others. — (FREEMAN)