ATM cards issued to national ID registrants empty – Landbank

MANILA, Philippines — Debit cards being distributed to national ID registrants contain no cash, contrary to what is being circulated on social media.

The state-run Land Bank of the Philippines issued the clarification, saying the ATM cards issued to Filipinos registering with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) can only be used to open bank accounts.

It said the debit cards contain no amount of government subsidy.

Landbank called on the public to avoid crowding PhilSys registration sites, thinking that the debit card they will receive carries an initial deposit courtesy of the government.

Landbank said it only works with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in rolling out PhilSys to encourage registrants to open a deposit account without a required placement.

“Land Bank is co-locating with the PSA in the PhilSys rollouts nationwide to provide unbanked registrants with their own transaction accounts, to bring more Filipinos into the formal banking system in support of the national government’s financial inclusion agenda,” Landbank said.

It said ATM holders could make financial transactions, pay their bills and buy products and services online as well as allow them to save and withdraw cash.

Landbank has opened deposit accounts for 6.14 million PhilSys registrants from 1,296 registration sites in 62 provinces as of October.

The PSA has registered 41 million Filipinos or 82 percent of the target for the year as of Nov. 4.