The team behind the establishment of a specialized bank for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), which is up for opening in Dubai next year, seeks to live up to President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to ease the financial burden of the country’s modern-day heroes.
Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) might offer ‘very minimal or low’ remittance fees through the conversion of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank (Postalbank) into an OFW bank.
“The President wanted very minimal or low remittance fees so we may have to go that track. Then maybe just make money out of other products like deposit loans,” Malaya quoted Dominguez as saying.
The Finance secretary assured that the specialized bank will focus on servicing the needs of OFWs.
“What is important is that we establish a bank that is focused on marketing its services to OFWs to make their banking transactions and remittances easier as well as servicing the loan requirements for OFWs’ families,” he added.
Buenaventura said he has already exchange words with Dubai-based OFW to get insights on potential OFW banks services.
“The rate is always the most important factor. We want to be cheaper. It will be cheaper than all our competitors,” he told local reporters on the sidelines of LandBank’s Gawad Punla awarding ceremony on August 18.
LandBank seeks to conduct pilot tests on OFW Bank in Dubai in January 2018 and in Bahrain in April 2018.
