Financial Services for the Unbanked Words by Presy Alba
I
n most rural areas, if you ask residents, especially women, to provide identification cards, many of them admit that they do not have one. Those who need identification for some compulsory reason get a postal ID which costs around PHP500, way too expensive if your option is to use that PHP500 to get an ID or buy 10 kilos of rice that could feed your family for several days.
Beneficiaries of Project Dungannon with their ATM debits card from Dungannon Bank.
No ID means that they could not open a bank account because it is one of the KYC (Know Your Clients) documents required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas when opening a bank account. It is one of the main reasons that NWTF issue clients their first ID Cards as proof of identity. Using their Project Dungganon ID, clients can then apply for an ATM debit card from Dungganon Bank, a microfinance rural bank owned by NWTF. With the Dungganon ATM debit card, instead of issuing the client a check for her loan, NWTF deposits the full amount into her ATM account, which she can then withdraw as needed. This eliminates the need for her to encash her check in commercial banks that often charge encashment fees, or to rediscount the check at a local merchant who also charges a percentage of the check amount. In both cases, the client ends up carrying out a large amount of money, which she either spends right away or carries home.
64
MARCH 2020
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