MORE banks have announced modified operations, especially branches in the National Capital Region (NCR), as health officials reported a continuing surge of Covid-19 cases.
State-run Landbank of the Philippines announced in a statement last Tuesday its branches in Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon will be operating on shortened hours from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The bank added it temporarily closed some branches in the NCR, Central Luzon and Southern Luzon due to Covid-19 exposure of personnel and to give way to disinfection to ensure the health and safety of its clients and employees.
With renewed calls to stay home and do banking online, Landbank also urged its clients to exercise more vigilance in their transactions through the internet.
The lender appealed to its clients to remain vigilant and ignore suspicious emails, text and social media messages, links and attachments from unknown senders. It also urged the public to be on the look-out for fake web sites and social media accounts pretending to be Landbank by checking and verifying a suspicious site’s URL, email address, social media account or phone number.
“Official Landbank representatives will never ask for a client’s one-time passwords (OTPs), account details and the card verification value (CVV) at the back of the card, among other security details,” the bank said.
PSBank also announced that it has shortened its banking time to 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The bank also said some branches are temporarily closed while slightly different banking hours are observed for mall-based branches. The list of per-branch details is on their official web site.
Security Bank Corp. has also adjusted its hours but their operating schedule varies depending on the location of the branch. Most branches in Metro Manila operate from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. while some are only up to 2:00 p.m. The bank posts daily updates on their operating schedules on their official web site.
Over the weekend, both the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Chamber of Thrift Banks issued statements, ensuring their clients of continued services amid the surge of cases.
Image credits: Roy Domingo