Land Bank is settlement bank for National Single Window program

Land Bank president and CEO Gilda Pico (middle) signs the agreement designating Land Bank as the settlement and consolidator bank for the National Single Window program. With her are Deputy Treasurer Atty. Gisela Lood, Finance Undersecretary Carlo Carag, Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Prudencio Reyes Jr., and BancNet Chairman Ricardo Chua.

The Land Bank of the Philippines recently signed an agreement with the Bureau of the Treasury and BancNet Inc. designating Land Bank as the payment consolidator and settlement bank for collections through the National Single Window (NSW) portal.

The NSW is an internet-based system that allows electronic submission and processing of applications for licenses, permits and other transit-related regulatory requirements through a single interface linking traders with the concerned government agencies.

“This next step enables the electronic payment of export-import clearances and trade related services through the BancNet Internet Payment Gateway.  It will further speed up trade transactions and save clients from the need to run to and from different agencies for their payments,” said LANDBANK president and CEO Gilda E. Pico.

Land Bank is now an institutional member of the BancNet ATM Network, the largest inter-bank network in the country connecting more than 6,000 ATMs of 91 member banks. BancNet operates the Internet Payment Gateway connected to the NSW portal. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) are the pilot agencies for the project.

The implementation of the Philippine NSW is in line with the thrust of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish the ASEAN Single Window, aimed to facilitate trade efficiencies between member countries.

Present during the agreement signing were Deputy Treasurer of the Philippines Atty. Gisela Lood; Finance Undersecretary Carlo Carag, Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Prudencio Reyes Jr., NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, SRA Deputy Administrator Aida Ignacio, BancNet Chairman Ricardo Chua, President Robert Blas, and EVP and CEO Aris Zafra Jr.