Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) now lets customers open an account without presenting a physical national ID card.

The state-owned bank rolled out a new identity verification feature powered by the National ID system, letting customers verify their identity through facial biometric authentication linked to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) National ID Authentication Services (NIDAS).

Customers can open an account online through LandBank’s Mobile Banking App or at any of its 616 branches nationwide, where staff can assist with the facial biometric verification step.

The feature is designed to speed up account opening, particularly for people who may not have immediate access to a physical ID.

“At LandBank, we are committed to making banking easier and more accessible for every Filipino,” said LandBank President and CEO Lynette Ortiz. “By leveraging the National ID system, we are removing barriers to account ownership and bringing more Filipinos into the formal financial system, especially those in underserved and unbanked communities.”

Part of a Widening NIDAS Rollout

LandBank joins a growing list of financial institutions connected to NIDAS, including BPI, GoTyme Bank, Asia United Bank, and GCash.

BPI reported a 50% increase in account openings after adopting the same facial-matching approach, with 85% of its new accounts now using National ID verification.

PSA has said its goal is for all financial institutions to eventually adopt NIDAS, and has separately extended the system into healthcare, with PhilHealth and Baguio General Hospital both integrating National ID verification into their own patient and member systems.

As of 28 July, PSA reported roughly 145 million successful NIDAS authentications nationwide, up from 124 million at the end of June, with close to 93 million verifiable PhilSys Numbers issued and nearly 92 million people able to access a Digital National ID through eGovPH.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by user23413193 via Magnific.