RIYADH, 20 June 2007 — Al-Rajhi Bank yesterday said it has signed an agreement with Land Bank of the Philippines to facilitate remittances from Filipinos in the Kingdom.

The state-owned bank, also known only as Landbank, is Al-Rajhi’s latest addition to the list of its correspondent banks in the Philippines used by Tahweel Al-Rajhi for remittance purposes.

“This tie-up will help Tahweel Al Rajhi render better services for Filipino expatriates, while it offers many other services like money exchange, draft checks, door to door delivery, express remittance and the ‘cash online’ service (money transfer within two hours),” said Abdulaziz Al-Sedeas, head of Tahweel Al Rajhi in Riyadh.

Landbank ranks among the top five commercial banks in the Philippines in terms of deposits, assets, loans and capital. From its initial role as the financing arm of agrarian reform, Landbank has evolved into a full-service commercial bank.

“For our Filipino customers, Tahweel Al-Rajhi is currently running a transfer promotion to the Philippines for just SR15,” he said. “Tahweel Al Rajhi’s services has many features. It is accurate, secure, fast, and provides competitive transfer fees. You just need to register once and you have the option to add as many beneficiaries as you like.”

He explained that the transfer can be done by visiting any Tahweel Al-Rajhi centers across the Kingdom, which are opened seven days a week, or through Al-Rajhi ATMs or via the Internet.

Tahweel Al- Rajhi will be opening more centers across Saudi Arabia this year “due to rising demand,” said Al-Sedeas.

He noted that from just one center in 1992, Tahweel Al-Rajhi has over 90 centers Kingdomwide today. It has successfully updated its services by using state-of-the-art technology in exchange remittance business. Al Rajhi Bank is a frontrunner in Saudi Arabia’s banking and business world and has been able to maintain its leadership position with the largest network of branches in the Middle East, which now includes approximately 400 branches for men, 100 ladies branches and attracts the largest number of Saudi employees. The bank has the largest ATM network with 1,600 machines and over 12,000 points of sale installed with merchants all over the Kingdom.

Cash Card

Al-Sedeas also said Filipinos in the Kingdom will soon enjoy the benefits of a faster and more efficient mode of sending money to the Philippines with the Land Bank Cash Card for OFWs.

The Cash Card, a mobile phone-based banking service, was unveiled recently during the celebration of Migrant Workers’ Day early this month.

According to Landbank’s online news service, the convenience and speed of the service was demonstrated with an actual fund transfer streamed live from Manama in Bahrain.

With Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain Eduardo Pablo Maglaya watching, a Filipino worker in Manama used her cell phone to send money to a relative who attended the celebration in Manila. The relative then withdrew the remittance at an ATM installed at the venue.

The ATM withdrawal also highlighted how relatives of OFWs who are cash card holders can withdraw money remitted to them from any of Landbank’s more than 700 ATMs, and over 7,000 affiliate ATMs of Expressnet, Bancnet and Megalink nationwide.

“The Landbank Cash Card for OFWs will not only enable cashless purchases in participating establishments, but will also serve as an ID card and a welfare card for the OFW, allowing deductions representing the OFW’s monthly contributions to the Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG,” said the news dispatch.