On its second milestone year, the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) has expanded its financial services to 119 countries, affording Filipinos, regardless of location, safe and convenient access to digital banking and investments.
As the country’s first branchless digital-only bank, OFBank has empowered migrant workers, long-term travelers, and multi-generational immigrants as well as their families.
“OFBank’s banking products and services reflect the collective gratitude of the nation to our modern-day heroes who have significantly contributed to the country’s growth. We are also paving the way to expand financial inclusivity for our kababayans here at home,” OFBank President and Chief Executive Officer Leila Martin said.
OFBank secured the very first digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on March 25, 2021, and attained the required P1 billion minimum capitalization set by the latter for digital banks on May 26, 2022.
As digital modes of banking transactions increased globally, OFBank’s inflow of online banking transactions totaled P7.22 billion from servicing more than 80,000 accounts over the past two years.
At the core of the bank’s service is the Mobile Banking Application (MBA) which enables contactless account opening, cashless payments, and immediate transfer of funds that can be done anytime and anywhere.
Aside from facilitating online transactions, OFBank has also leveled the investment playing field. Through its mobile app, both investment newbies and veterans were able to access medium to long-term government investment products such as the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds and the 25th and 26th tranches of the Retail Treasury Bonds (RTB). These low-risk, fixed-income investments allowed OFBank members to invest as low as P5,000 for RTBs and US$300 for the RDB.
Sales generated from these investment instruments contributed to the government’s pandemic recovery and resiliency programs. OFBank raised a total of P8.275 million through RTB-25 from February 9 to March 4, 2021; P10.286 million through Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds from September 15 to October 1, 2021; and P17.485 million for RTB-26 from November 16 to 26, 2021.
As part of its advocacy to strengthen the financial skills of migrant workers, OFBank has facilitated a total of 759 webinars and 99 face-to-face Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars (PDOS) in 2021, followed by 240 online seminars and 43 PDOS from January to April 2022.
“For the past two years, we have seen to it that digital banking financially empowers all Filipinos, especially those working overseas. Serving them has made our anniversary even more meaningful. We will continue to innovate our products and services relevant to their needs towards building better lives,” Martin added.