MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect livelihoods and employment throughout the country, the Lorenzo Tan Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LTMPC) in Tangub City has remained responsive to the financial needs of its members, with help from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK).
The P300-million re-discounting loan line from the state-run bank last year allowed LTMPC to sustain its lending operations and finance the needs of its nearly 80,000 members, of whom 31,000 are farmers, fishers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The loan helped LTMPC support farmers and fishers in purchasing production requirements, such as farm inputs and seedlings. It also provided for the needs of micro and small entrepreneurs, Overseas Filipino Workers, and pensioner-members amid the economic challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“LANDBANK recognizes the essential role of cooperatives in promoting economic recovery and resiliency in their local communities. We stand ready to bolster their support interventions as we continue to rise together in the new normal,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.
With an assured source of funds, LTMPC has also provided its members with essential goods, such as groceries and rice, including free medical check-ups at the LTMPC Community Hospital in Zamboanga del Sur province, which is owned by the cooperative.
A LANBANK partner since 1991, LTMPC has expanded its operations from its lone branch in Tangub City to 22 branches across the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Misamis Oriental, and Lanao del Norte.
“Taos-puso akong nagpapasalamat sa tulong, walang-sawang pagsuporta, at tiwalang ipinagkaloob ng LANDBANK sa aming kooperatiba. Ang pampinansyal at teknikal na tulong, at abot-kayang interes ay malaking tulong sa kooperatiba lalo na sa aming mga miyembrong magsasaka,” said General Manager Lusminda S. Cubero.
As of end-September 2021, LANDBANK’s outstanding loans to the agriculture sector have reached P228.21 billion, of which P21.53 billion directly benefited small farmers and fishers channeled through cooperatives and farmers’ associations.
LANDBANK continues its intensified support to
partner cooperatives towards ramping-up the implementation of recovery and
resiliency strategies under the new normal.
QR code
Borromeo said LANDBANK has also enhanced its Mobile Banking Application (MBA) to allow users to make quick, convenient, and secure payments using quick response (QR) code to over 20,000 participating merchants nationwide.
She said the LANDBANK MBA has adopted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) QR Ph Person-to-Merchant (P2M) feature to benefit both customers and merchants with a convenient and secure digital payment option, in line with the Government’s thrust of promoting digital transactions in the country.
With this new QR feature, clients can pay for goods and services directly to merchants such as department stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, and restaurants.
“LANDBANK is one with the BSP in making and receiving payments a more convenient, reliable, and seamless experience through the national QR code standard or QR Ph. This contactless payment feature builds on our timely and relevant digital initiatives to keep clients safe, as we continue to follow strict health protocols in the new normal,” Borromeo said.
She added that apart from having a wide set of merchants that accept QR payments, LANDBANK clients who will use the QR payment feature will also benefit from having cost-effective transactions, minimized encoding errors, and encrypted payment information and data transfers.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the QR Ph empowers consumers by giving them the freedom to choose their digital payment service through its interoperable feature, and this is aligned with the United Nations principle on responsible use of digital payments.
The LANDBANK MBA continues to record a surge in usage in the first three quarters of 2021, as transactions grew 50% to 73.26 million with a significant 124% rise in amount facilitated to P119.65 billion, year-on-year.
LANDBANK’s digital banking platforms power the delivery of responsive and innovative financial products and services towards greater financial inclusion. (RE)
