After registering for a National ID, more than 3 million unbanked Filipinos have opened transaction accounts with Land Bank of the Philippines.

According to a statement released on Friday, the state-owned financial institution had onboarded a total of 3,794,882 unbanked National ID registrants for transaction accounts as of May 31, with 1,071,177 of them receiving their LandBank agent banking cards (ABCs).

The cards are part of the lender’s ongoing partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority to co-locate in the nationwide rollouts of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and provide unbanked registrants with their own transaction accounts, which were provided free of charge and with no initial deposit requirement.

The cards are given to unbanked PhilSys registrants at LandBank account opening booths in designated co-location regions. The lender said it had set up shop in over 850 PhilSys registration locations throughout 32 pilot provinces by the end of May 2021.

Cardholders can use their cards to cash in, cash out, and transfer money at any LandBank branch or agency banking partner. They can also withdraw cash, make cashless transactions, shop online, and receive government subsidies electronically using Mastercard-accepting automated teller machines (ATMs).

As part of the Department of Transportation’s Automatic Fare Collection System program, the cards may be used as contactless cards to pay fares in public transportation modes in the future.

“As we commemorate Independence Day centered on unity, LandBank continues to take part in the national government’s whole-of-nation approach towards reaching and serving more unbanked and underserved Filipinos, helping them to be financially independent.”

“We are one with government partners in fast-tracking initiatives to bridge the financial inclusion gap in the country,”  Cecilia Borromeo, LandBank president and chief executive officer, said.

By banking the unbanked, LandBank said it was able to credit government financial giveaways and pensions straight into their accounts via cashless fund transfers.

In partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the lender reported that it has issued 5.6 million cash cards to beneficiaries of social assistance programs across the country as of May 31.