BPI unveils first mobile banking
platform for businesses
Businesses today need efficient cash management solutions that allow businessmen to dispose of financial bottlenecks by viewing and approving financial transactions on the go.
This was the principle that gave birth to the Bank of the Philippine Islands’ (BPI) latest innovation for businesses which it officially unveiled recently—the BPI ExpressLink Mobile. "BPI ExpressLink Mobile is the country’s first mobile cash management facility designed for business users," says Bess J. Basa, BPI Vice President and Cash Management Head. "This technology allows our customers to monitor their deposit account balances; pay suppliers; transfer funds and fulfill their BIR tax, SSS, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth payments—all by simply using their mobile devices."
Present during the product launch were some of BPI’s customers belonging to the large corporate and SME segments who have initially tested the ELink Mobile facility before BPI rolled it out to the public. Among those who proved the efficiency and ease of ELink Mobile for their businesses are Jin Gonzales, president and founder of food delivery business Quick Delivery; Lawrence De Leon, Comptroller of Phil.Seven (7-11 Convenience Store); Mike Villanueva of ABS-CBN; Engineer Anthony Baisa, owner and CEO of IT-solutions provider business Bodega Site; Lawrence Ong and Gilbert Ong of Goodream Printers, Corp.; Reynaldo Ganal and Wilma Tuazon of Pilipinas Kao, Inc.; Charlene Sy of CDC Holdings; Fatima Cinco of Globe Telecom; and Angela Avante of Upsight Construction, Inc.
Business operations often need businessmen to go out of the office but the accounting department needs them to sign and approve financial documents in the office. Compromises of this sort can lead to delayed business operations that, in turn, result to a domino effect of other headaches.
Manual processes also result in higher cost of operation. Paying business utility and government bills need additional staff assigned to line up at payments centers. The Accounting Dept. is expanded because more people are needed for manual payments, collections and record reconciliation which take a long time to resolve. Vouchers and check preparations take so much time to process and more importantly, requires company signatories to physically sign the document to proceed. Moreover, employees’ salaries and allowances paid in cold cash is highly risky for both the Accounting Department and the employees who carry the money around.
These risks, inefficiencies and financial bottlenecks can be solved by a cash management system that helps reduce manual processes, minimize manpower needs, improve record management and reconciliation, collect and pay with ease and allow business decision makers manage their company’s finances anywhere they are, anytime they need.
BPI Expresslink allows companies to monitor, manage and control their bank balances, collections and disbursements via internet and mobile platforms. Collection from customers, payment of bills, suppliers and employees, and record reconciliation can all be done by a few clicks using the laptops, tablets and mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. Business managers and signatories therefore no longer need to go back to their offices just sign checks. People can be assigned to more productive tasks that lining up to pay bills or reconciling records.
With the use of BPI Expresslink, business time and resources are free up and operation processes are improved, resulting to higher productivity and improved bottomlines.
"Before, I used to spend more than four hours a week just to sign checks and approve certain transactions," says Gonzales of Quick Delivery. "With the BPI ELink Mobile, I just have to grab my phone, click away and I get all requirements approved in real time, anywhere I am."
"Security isn’t an issue with BPI ELink Mobile, as it utilizes a 128-bit encryption that will prevent information from being leaked away from the mobile user’s device," tells Basa. "The ELink Mobile app does not store user IDs and passwords, and our clients are automatically logged out of the system after 10 minutes of inactivity."
Clients simply have to download the ELink Mobile app into their Internet-enabled mobile devices, such as Blackberry handsets, the Apple iPhone and iPad, and other Android devices.
"ELink Mobile is a relevant business tool that expands BPI’s financial community," shares Alfonso Salcedo, Jr., BPI Executive Vice President and Head of the Corporate Banking Group. "BPI continues to invest in relevant banking technologies that really cut costs, improve business flow, and complement the fast pace of business growth today to enables our clients to seize business opportunities."