The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait jointly organize its fourth financial literacy webinar on 9 May 2021, to discuss the reintegration programs of the Philippine government for Overseas Filipino Workers returning to the Philippines. (Kuwait PE screenshot)

As part of its thrust to empower Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) financially, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait and the Overseas Filipino (OF) Bank organized a series of financial literacy webinars that aim to guide OFWs in managing their finances and securing their financial future.

In his message during the first webinar of the Embassy and OF Bank, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot highlighted the relevance of financial literacy among OFWs, who were adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Many OFWs in Kuwait lost their savings or, worse, their jobs because of the restrictions that were imposed to arrest the spread of COVID-19. Hence, this is the most opportune time for OFWs to plan and take care of their hard-earned money, to achieve their dream of a better and more comfortable life for themselves and for their loved ones back home,” Ambassador Lomondot said in Filipino.

The Embassy and OF Bank held webinars via Zoom on saving and budgeting, digital banking, investing, and the government’s OFW Reintegration Program from 26 March to 7 May 2021. All four webinars were moderated by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Adrian Audrey L. Baccay. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Kuwait Welfare Officer Llewelyn D. Perez, and Social Security System (SSS) Representative in Kuwait Jeremy S. Redulla also served as resource persons during the webinars.

More than 250 participants took part in the four financial literacy webinars on Zoom, while the live-streaming and replay of the webinars on Facebook have garnered a total of 77,900 views.

Gerald T. Heriales, OF Bank’s Overseas Representative Officer for the Middle East, noted that the financial literacy webinars in Kuwait registered the highest number of participants and views among the webinars that the OF Bank has so far organized around the world.

Heriales further noted that following the conduct of the four financial literacy webinars, the OF Bank saw an increase in the number of OF Bank account holders in Kuwait.

“About 300 OFWs in Kuwait enrolled with the OF Bank for their digital accounts, following the financial literacy webinars with the Embassy. We hope that through these webinars, more OFWs are encouraged to set up their accounts with the OF Bank, which was established by the Philippine government to serve the banking and financial needs of Filipinos wherever they are in the world,” Heriales said. Heriales said that OFWs in Kuwait who have inquiries regarding the products and services of the OF Bank may reach out to him through the Facebook page, “OF Bank Overseas Representatives.”

A subsidiary of the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines, OF Bank is the first and only digital-only and branchless bank in the Philippines. It is backed by the Digital Onboarding System with Artificial Intelligence (DOBSAI), which allows the real-time opening of a mobile banking deposit account on supported iPhone or Android devices. As of December 2020, the OF Bank has 19,887 bank accounts with an outstanding balance of P104.37 million. END