The Office of the President has signed an agreement with LANDBANK to adopt the LANDBANK Visa Government Purchase Card (GPC) for official spending, Visa announced.

Deputy Executive Secretary Dennis Santiago and LANDBANK First Vice President Kristine Marie Cuevas signed the memorandum of agreement on 29 September at Malacañang.

The office that signed handles internal support services for the Office of the President.

Card Payments Instead of Cash Advances

The GPC lets authorised government staff pay for eligible official expenses by card instead of cash or cheques.

Each agency sets its own spending limits and can restrict the card to approved merchant categories.

It works like a credit card, with agencies paying the full balance after each billing cycle, LANDBANK said at the card’s launch in July.

The card covers low-value purchases, official travel and recurring expenses.

A digital expense management platform is also part of the programme. It automates the process from recording transactions to reconciliation, approvals and reporting.

Santiago said the Office of the President hopes to “widen adoption of the GPC and its expense management capabilities.”

A Wider Rollout Across Government

The agreement follows the card’s launch in July, when the Bureau of the Treasury became one of the first adopters across its 16 regional offices.

LANDBANK said at the time that it aims to onboard 2,000 agencies by the end of 2026.

Purchase cards are not new to government. LANDBANK said 107 agencies had joined its programme since 2023, with about 770 cards issued mainly to agency heads and senior officers, NewsBytes reported.

The Visa-powered version adds the expense management system, which LANDBANK said would go live in the fourth quarter.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by the LANDBANK of the Philippines via its website.