The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) girds for a more robust customer growth with the expansion of its agency banking program and its initiative to remove InstaPay and PESONet transfer fees.
BPI President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said their May BPI Dito flagship agency banking program has expanded via its growing number of partnerships, allowing it to increase its nationwide presence.
“What we have is we have partner businesses. [We have partnered with] 34 businesses with over 7,100 doors. So, the presence is all over. We work with these known brands, because when you’re doing a banking transaction, your customers must also know that they trust the partner,” Limcaoco said.
The bank said all partner stores will now become mini branch hubs that are able to offer account opening, deposits, and withdrawals as it bolsters its agency banking proposition.
At present, 1,369 of May BPI Dito partner stores offer cash deposit and withdrawal services.
BPI targets to have all partner stores equipped with those functions by the middle of next year.
He added that the bank’s partnership with Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. currently makes up the bulk of partner store locations with close to 800 outlets.
Over a million new depositors have been onboarded through May BPI Dito partner stores since the program began, according to the bank.
The May BPI Dito program also helps decongest its branches, allowing their staff to focus on other financial services such as customer education and product selling.
“The idea is we decongest the branches. Maybe 50% of our transactions in the branches are still deposits and withdrawals. Ideally… we move the day-to-day transactions to a partner store, and the branch becomes more like a place where we can educate and raise awareness.”
The program also lowers expenses for the bank amid lower maintenance costs and as it allows them to increase their touchpoints in areas with no bank branches.
