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Category Archive: Banking
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New site: International Deposit Rates Exchange
Despite the popularity of blogs in the Philippines, one niche that hasn’t really gained that much fame is the personal finance-related blogs. I think this is mainly because the banking and finance industry hasn’t really caught on. I’ve been invited to blog meets related to banking but they all felt like a traditional press conference for mainstream media. (more…)
BPI launches full-service online investment facility
The Philippines was once a country with the lowest savings rate of 20% in Southeast Asia. I can imagine that investing was also low then. Thankfully, it has increased to 30%, owing it to the substantial incomes of overseas Filipino workers.
The good news is, more and more Filipinos are learning about investments. In a Philippine Daily Inquirer article, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that beneficiaries of OFWs are putting their money in investments like housing, vehicles, etc. But I think this is not enough. (more…)
My mother has a credit card!
I visited my parents today and was poking around cabinets and mail when I saw something that totally shocked me–bills from BDO credit card! For the first time in my mother’s 65 years of existence, this is the first time she got a credit card. (more…)
BPI's new website look
Just a quick blog entry. Have you seen the new look of BPI expressonline? There’s not much difference except that there are less borders, making the website look cleaner. An important feature is that now, you can view your BPI investments online with your bank accounts, credit card bills, etc.
But other than these changes, you still get to do the same functionalities of the site.
Manage Your Time Better with BPI Express Mobile
Today’s strong and independent career women are in constant search for that sense of balance between work and recreation. With BPI Express Mobile, today’s women can easily check real time balances of their bank accounts, credit accounts or prepaid cards, transfer funds instantly, reload credits to any cell phone, and pay bills more easily with just a few clicks from their cell phones. (more…)
Get P500 shopping credit
Received from a text advisory of BPI:
Get P500 shopping credits on your BPI Express Credit Card for every approved card referral.
Tagged bpi, credit card
BPI Direct offers low housing loan rate
If anyone is looking for a good housing loan rate, do check out BPI Direct. From March 1 to 31, 2010, BPI Direct offers the lowest housing loan rate of 8.7% fixed for five years.
Applications are facilitated online for easy processing and quick access. Interested applicants can log on to http://www.bpidirect.com for more details. This is an online campaign only so don’t make the mistake of going to the bank and processing your papers the old-fashioned way.
Anyone who has been employed for the last two years can apply for the BPI Direct lousing loan. The loan can be used for various housing options such as purchasing a vacant lot, purchasing a house and lot, constructing a house, renovating existing home and re-financing housing loans with other financial institutions.
Press Release: BPI, Globe to boost microfinance
BPI and Globe Telecom move to further fulfill the needs of microfinance industry in the Philippines. Its new venture, BPI Globe BanKO, is a mobile savings bank with microfinance as its main thrust.
Back in 1989, BPI was the first commercial bank to grant loans to microfinance institutions (MFIs) for funding through the BPI Foundation. In 2006, the BPI Microfinance Unit was formally incorporated into the bank’s business.
BPI Globe BanKO will absorb and expand the wholesale microfinance portfolio of BPI. With BPI Globe BanKO, the three companies aim to reach out to the untapped microfinance market in the country by providing microfinance institutions (MFIs) much needed funding and development programs.
“The gap between demand and supply for microfinance funding is immense. Based on the figures released by Asian Development Bank for 2007, only eight percent of the demand was met. BPI Globe BanKO will work hand-in-hand with MFIs to service the entrepreneurial poor even at the base of the economic pyramid,” says Teresita B. Tan, BPI Globe BanKO’s President. The bank is a synergy of the three companies, harnessing Ayala’s thrust for sustainable development, BPI’s expertise in financial services, and Globe Telecom’s innovative technology.
“Our strategy is to provide innovative products and services, establish a market-oriented ecosystem, and utilize of alternative low-cost channels of delivery,” adds Tan.
The new BPI Globe BanKO features strong service for wholesale microfinance, providing MFIs with four major services: wholesale microfinance loans, capacity-building loans, electronic banking, and partnerships with international guarantors.
Capacity-building programs are also made available to MFIs through BPI Globe BanKO’s partnership with Ateneo de Manila University’s Institute of Social Sciences. The program brings trainers to MFIs located in various areas of the Philippines, conducting courses on various areas ranging from governance and portfolio management to product development and MIS.
BPI Globe BanKO is set to open its main office at Greenhills in 23 February 2010.
Tagged bpi, bpi globe banko, globe telecom
Chinabank Time Deposit Rates (Nov. 10)
As of Nov. 10, 2009, here are the time deposit rates of Chinabank.
Tagged chinabank
Another complaint about BDO
Regular readers of Pinay and Money know my worst experience with a BDO manager. Recently, a friend posted a very frustrating experience with BDO. My friend gave me permission to repost this in Pinay and Money.
BDO sucks big time
Why?
Just a couple of days ago, a close friend made a cash advance on her BDO credit card. The ATM did not dispense any money even if it was online and it was just newly “fed” with bills. Yet, the money was deducted from her account. Sweet, ain’t it?
So, she made the necessary calls to the ever-so-nice and efficient (yes, I am being sarcastic) people at BDO. The first person my friend was able to talk to told her that it would take 7-10 banking days to get her money back and that she would just have to wait because it was “the process.” My friend obviously got pissed so she asked to talk to the supervisor, hoping for a better answer other than “because it is the process.”
The girl made my friend wait for a god 15 minutes and never got back to her again. To even make things worse, when my friend followed-up the following day, she finds out that her report was not logged in by the girl she talked to. AND SHE WAS GIVEN WRONG INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROCESS. BDO employs really efficient call center agents, no?
Wait. It gets better.
Apparently it doesn’t take 7-10 days to get the money back. It takes 75 BANKING DAYS TO GET THE MONEY BACK. You read that right. 75 BANKING DAYS to get your money back. That’s a good two and half months. Considering the many holidays that are coming, it will take my friend up to 2010 just to get her money back. Wow. Quite a lot of time considering she doesn’t even get to charge interest from BDO for each day she has to wait.
Now where is the fairness in that? Credit card companies charge you exorbitant penalties if you pay a day late. AND YOU CAN’T EVEN CHARGE THEM FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!! Tell me, where is the fairness in that?! And their excuse is because: it’s the process. What sort of banking process requires 75 banking days to do, when it takes them no less than a day to call and pester you to pay up your credit card bills when you are a day late in paying? Really sucky process if you ask me.
And their tag line goes, we find ways.
I say BDO sucks big time.
Tagged BDO, cash advance