PNB to upgrade system, turnoff all electronic channels

MANILA, Philippines -  Listed Philippine National Bank (PNB) is set to conduct system enhancement activities that would affect millions of clients using electronic channels such as ATMs as well as online and mobile banking this week.

The country’s fifth largest bank in terms of assets said in an advisory the enhancement activities would start 9 p.m. of Aug. 10 and would be completed on 11:59 p.m. of Aug. 13.

“As part of our commitment to serve you first, we, at PNB, continue to improve our systems,” the bank said.

During this period, PNB said certain services such as transactions done through ATMs as well as transactions done through other banks’ ATMs using PNB ATM cards would be unavailable for both individual and corporate clients.

Likewise, the listed bank added retail and corporate clients would not be able to access internet banking as well as mobile banking app.

Furthermore, PNB said both domestic and international fund transfers as well as over-the-counter bills payments would not be processed.

“In view of this, kindly plan your transactions ahead of time to avoid inconvenience,” PNB said.

To service the needs of both retail and corporate clients, PNB said all branches would extend banking hours on Aug. 11 to process over-the-counter cash deposits and withdrawals as well as other banking needs.

“After the enhancement activities, you may experience intermittent services using banking channels. Please bear with us as we continue to improve our system in order to serve you first in all your banking needs,” PNB said in the advisory.

PNB has already completed the migration to a more secured Europay/MasterCard/Visa or EMV chip for its ATM and POS terminals, debit and credit card ahead of the deadline set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The migration to EMV technology has strengthened further PNB’s electronic retail payment system, thus offering its clients better protection against payment card fraud.

PNB is also focusing on electronic banking to address the needs of its increasing customers who are digital-savvy.

Aligned with this digital shift, the bank launched the PNB mobile banking app to better serve its customers’ diverse banking needs. The app offers secure online banking for clients who do their transaction via mobile phones.

PNB has a total of 681 branches and 1,092 ATMs nationwide. It has the most extensive international footprint among Philippines banks with 73 overseas branches, representative offices, remittance centers and subsidiaries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.