BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

I recently retired my Unionbank account which has been my only online method of paying my HSBC and Citibank credit card bills. So, I thought like I have no other way of paying my credit cards dept except going to the bank itself. But the thing here is: there's only one branch for the two banks I mentioned earlier here in Cebu. And with the worsening traffic condition especially this holiday season, it could take a long time traveling just to pay my debts. The good thing though is that I found out that I can pay my HSBC and Citibank credit cards via BPI Express Online. But unlike other merchants, you need to take extra steps to enable this capability. And by the way, this is true even to other non-BPI credit cards and loan providers. So here's the steps you need to take to enable it. 1. Check if your credit card can be paid with Express Online. Here's the list: Credit Cards Bankard RCBC Y Y Y Y card number *Signed Enrollment Form BPI Globe BanKo BanKo Y Y ...

Update: As for Thursday morning (June 8, 2017), all online system of BPI are fully operational and errors in deposit accounts has been corrected. Several people claimed Wednesday morning that they have lost money from their BPI account according to the report of ABS-CBN News Website. The report further stated that BPI took responsibility to the errors calling it "internal data processing" error and is currently working to resolve the issue.

UPDATED! Thanks to the recent comments in this article that the changes on paying sun cellular bills was brought to my attention. The change is very simple. From payee name Digitel Mobile , sun cellular bills can now be paid in the name SMART/SUN (SMART) . I don't exactly know the reason for this change but it appears that this is part of the integration process when PLDT (owner of SMART) acquired majority ownership of Digitel Mobile, Sun Cellular's parent company. Now this is important!  All those who enrolled with Digitel Mobile as their payee name will have to re-enroll again using the steps outline below. This time using  SMART/SUN (SMART) as the payee name. BPI Express Online Bills Enrollment Express Online is BPI's online banking facility that will enable you to do transactions using your internet connected device. To learn how to enroll your bank account to BPI Express Online, check the article below: [Read:  How to Enroll An Account to BPI Express Onl...

My passbook (inside my bag) was recently stolen inside a local grocery store, and I would like to share the steps I took to secure my account and get a new passbook.      By User:Aerous ", CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link The steps outlined here are for a BPI savings account, but generally, the procedure will be very similar to other banks in the Philippines. 1. Call the Bank to Secure Your Account The first and most crucial step you need to do immediately is to contact your bank by phone or personally report it to the branch where you opened the account. This action will ensure that funds will stay put. The bank will lock the account immediately. The big banks have 24/7 hotlines. For BPI, it's 889-100. You have to do this step ASAP after discovering the loss. 2. Go to the Branch to Ask for a Replacement of the Passbook It can mean a simple replacement of the lost passbook, but it can also mean closing the entire account and opening a new one for security purposes. 3. Get an Af...

Time is gold especially to busy people. And some essential activities are simply isn't efficient and waste a lot of your time. That's true with paying your PLDT bill. Whether  it's phone, internet or others, going to PLDT office requires some at least 30 minutes to accomplish. That is if there's no long line or traffic along the way. But that's usually the case here in the Philippines. Anyway, the good news is that you can pay your PLDT bill online using BPI Express Online. That said, you need to have a BPI account as well as an BPI Express Online account too. Here 's some information to help you with that. [Read:  How to Enroll An Account to BPI Express Online Banking? ] Now, here's the step by step procedure on how to enroll your PLDT Bill to your BPI Express online. 1. Log-in to  BPI Express Online . 2. In the menu bar, select  Payments and Reloading  >>  Bills Payment  >>  Enroll All Other Bills 3. Fill up the form...

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) beefs up its security against ATM skimmers by introducing an optional ATM Withdrawal notification system. It's quite simple, when user activates this feature, he will receive a notification whenever withdrawals were made from his account using an ATM. How to Activate? There are three steps to activate BPI ATM Notification. 1. Login to BPI Express Online For those who has no online account, please see this article. [ How to Enroll An Account to BPI Express Online Banking? ] 2. Under the Other Services menu, hover over ATM Card Services and then click on Withdrawal Notifications . 3. Choose the setting that you want (i.e. email or SMS/text notification, amount of transaction etc). Click Submit .

As a young professional, time is so precious to me. With a lot of things in my plate everyday, I cannot afford to lose a minute of it. And one of the most frustrating waste of time is lining up for my bills payment. Thank goodness there are alternative ways of paying bills such as online payment. In this article, I will show how to pay your Sunlife Insurance using BPI Express Online Facility. Enroll Your Sunlife Account to Your BPI Express Online Account This step assumes that you already have an Express Online account. If you haven't done so, please check this article first. [Read: How to Enroll An Account to BPI Express Online Banking? ] 1. Log-in to BPI Express Online . 2. In the menu bar, select Payments and Reloading >> Bills Payment >> Enroll All Other Bills 3. Fill up the form. In the Bill Information, look for SUNLIFE OF CANADA (SUNLIF) In the Reference Number, enter your 10-digit Policy Number. If you don't know your Policy Numb...

Are you a BPI account holder? Is your account enrolled to BPI Express Online? Do you want to access your account and transact using your smartphone and tablet? If your answer to all these three questions is "yes", then I would suggest you to try BPI Express Mobile App. BPI Express Mobile is the official mobile banking application of Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI). It allows registered customers to access their accounts using their smartphones and tablets. Here's a brief review: User Interface and Functionality The user interface was great. It was intuitive and easy to use. Although lacking of other functionality compared to that of the web-based express online, it has the basic functions that majority use: branch/ATM locator, balance inquiry, fund transfer, and bills payment.

This tutorial will teach you how to enroll another Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI) account to your existing BPI Express Online Account to be able to transfer money. But before that, please see the following requirements: 1. Your account should be enrolled to BPI Express Online 2. You have stable* internet connection (just to be safe). *The second requirement is just for convenience. BPI Express Online doesn't require huge internet bandwidth, but at least your connection should not be intermittent. Steps in Enrolling Other BPI Accounts (1) On your web browser, go to www.bpiexpressonline.com BPI Express Online is BPI's online banking facility that operates 24/7. (2) Click the menu "Fund Transfer", and then click on the "Enroll Third Party Accounts". - Normally, you are only allowed one BPI Express Online account, even though you also have accounts in BPI Direct and BPI Family Savings Bank. So, the "third party accounts" here r...

Online banking has many benefits. One of them is convenience. You do not need to go to the nearest ATM or branch to do your transactions. And typically, online banking facilities are online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With that you can transact anytime and anywhere just as long as you have an internet connection. BPI Express Online Banking Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is one of the first few Philippine banks that embraced online banking. Their online banking facility can be accessed at www.bpiexpressonline.com . Here are some of BPI Express Online capabilities: (1) Transfer funds within your accounts or to third party accounts (2) Pay your bills (credit card, Meralco, phone bills...etc) (3) Manage your BPI Asset Management investments (4) Pay your taxes (5) Reload your prepaid phones (6) Update your account information (7) Other services How to Enroll Your Account? 1. In your web browser, go to www.bpiexpressonline.com , and click the Enroll butt...

I have experienced using many bank services in the Philippines but, to date, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Service is still the best . Here's 5 of my reasons. 1. BPI ATMs is everywhere When you have a BPI account whether a savings account or credit card, you can get cash through their ubiquitous ATM booths. You don’t have to use other bank’s ATM to withdraw cash and be deducted 12 pesos for doing so. It’s a little savings but can become bigger when accumulated. 2. No Deposit Charge Other banks charge 50 pesos when you deposit from a branch Visayas to Luzon account. BPI doesn’t have that. You can deposit to any account in the Philippines without having to pay an extra. Again, small savings but becomes bigger especially if you regularly remit money. 3. Encash/Deposit Checks without charge Other banks charge 50 to 100 pesos when you encash your check. Again, BPI doesn’t have that. You can get the value of your check down to 25 cents. And it even works when you depo...

Update: The online application facility is temporarily unavailable. Please visit the nearest BPI or BPi Family Savings Bank to apply. Do you want to have a savings account with maintaining balance of as low as zero pesos? We'll, try BPI Direct Savings Account . BPI Direct Savings has the following features: 1. ATM/Debit Card 2. Access to online banking at www.expressonline.com 3. Interest rate of 1.375% (higher than its equivalent on other banks) BPI Direct Savings Bank is one of the two subsidiary banks (the other one is BPI Family ) of the oldest bank in the Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) . Its main focus is on internet and telephone banking that is very applicable to those who are working away from their families (OFWs) who frequently send out money to them. How to Apply? Unlike BPI and BPI Family savings accounts , you don't need to go to a BPI branch to apply for it. In fact, you just can't apply through a branch office. BPI Direct S...

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines today and the oldest with over 100 years since its establishment in 1851. Today, BPI has been one of the trusted banks in the country as it has shown itself resilient in the many economic crisis that befell the Philippines. So if you're planning to have your first ever bank account, definitely, BPI is highly recommended. Here is the step-by-step procedure on how to apply for a BPI accoun t. For those who are not aware, Bank of the Philippine Islands has two other subsidiary banks- BPI Family savings bank , and BPI Direct Savings Bank. BPI current logo. Image by Source, Fair use,  LINK  Additional Info: I asked a BPI personnel abut the difference between the three BPI banks and she answered me these: BPI Bank is focused primarily on corporate accounts. BPI Family Savings Bank focuses on individual savings accounts. BPI Direct Savings Bank is focused primarily on telephone and on...

Do you want have a savings account but don't want a high maintaining balance? Typically, banks require at least ~3000 pesos average daily balance (ADB) on a savings account. If the ADB falls below that, a monthly penalty amounting to around 150 pesos will be deducted from your balance. If you continue failing to meet the ADB, the penalty will soon deplete your account and eventually, it will be closed. Well, here's a good news! Bank of the Philippine Islands' subsidiary BPI Direct is offering a savings account with a maintaining balance of as low as 0 pesos. Yes, you read it correctly.  The name of the account is BPinoy Savings. But here's a little condition. There must be at least one remittance transaction every three months. If you can't meet that small requirement, there's another type of savings account: BPI Direct Express Teller Savings Account. The maintaining balance is 500 Pesos. How to apply? What makes BPI Direct really nice is that ...

Have you ever experienced lining up for more than one hour just to deposit a small amount of money at a BPI branch? Isn't it annoying? It usually happens right before or after a long holiday when people are rushing to pay their bills or settle transactions. Now you can at least make the line shorter or not even line up anymore. BPI introduces the first of its kind among Philippine banks: online queue. BPI calls it BEA or BPI Express Assist Online . In a nutshell, it is simply setting an appointment with BPI. So instead of getting your queue number at the branch, you can do it online. Of course, you need to have an active BPI Express Online Account. [Read:  How to Enroll An Account to BPI Express Online Banking? ]

Just a brief background on Heartbleed Bug . Remember that "lock" symbol at you're browser's address bar? That tells you that your connection is encrypted. It means that when someone tries to eavesdrop on your connection, they cannot read your information because it was jumbled. Early this week though, researchers discovered a bug or an error in the technology behind that lock, OpenSSL. Meaning to say, sometimes, it wont work. The worst thing though is that about 70% of the internet uses that technology. It means that some websites, including the ones where you use your credit card number and PIN can expose you to hackers.

BPI Capital , a subsidiary of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is selling Retail Treasury Bonds (RTB). This is another option for those who want to invest their money other than stocks, mutual funds, and time deposits. Here are some Q&As about RTBs.

Are you an online stock trader? Investing in the Philippine Stock Exchange through online brokerage has been one of the most convenient way of buying and selling stocks. You can do it at home or at work as long as you are connected to the internet. Among the famous online brokers in the country are First Metro Securities of Metro Bank, Citisec Online and BPI Trade of BPI. And you may have known that among the three brokerages, BPI Trade is somewhat lacking in capabilities. First Metro Securities has been improving their service through the years providing interactive chats for "technical" traders. Recently they even launched a mobile app to serve their customers well. Citisec Online on the other hand boosts their customers satisfaction by providing useful research and recommendations. BPI Trade is not excelling even in just one of those. Even their interface looks boring. Now, BPI Trade seems to have awaken and took necessary steps t...

News broke out today confirming rumors that Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Lucio Tan's Philippine National Bank (PNB) is in talks of merger/acquisition to become the country's largest financial entity usurping Sy-led Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) in terms of assets. The confirmation was made through independent disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange(PSE) early Wednesday morning. BPI disclosure says: " We confirm discussions with the Lucio Tan Group and will make the appropriate disclosures in accordance with the PSE disclosure rules. In the meantime, we request suspension of trading on BPI shares today ." On the other hand, PNB disclosure says: " In reply, we confirm that there have been discussions between the Lucio  Tan Group and the Ayala Group. We will make the appropriate disclosures  within the day once we obtain the necessary board approvals. The formal disclosure will be sent to the regulators in acco...

What is a universal bank or unibank? Well, universal banks are licensed to do many kinds banking activities covering both the activities of a commercial bank (loans, time deposits, savings) and an investment bank (underwriting, issuance of securities, assisting companies in mergers and acquisitions). In the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral  or the Central Bank has the sole right to issue licences to banks who wanted to operate as a unibank. As of August 1, 2012, the Philippines has 21 Universal Banks. Here' the list of them. 1. Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. 2. Bank of the Philippine Islands 3. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company 4. Land Bank of the Philippines 5. Philippine National Bank 6. Allied Banking Corporation 7. China Banking Corporation 8. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation 9. Union Bank of the Philippines 10. United Coconut Planters Bank 11. Security Bank Corporation 12. Development Bank of the Philippines 13....