Happy 167th Anniversary BPI

Yes, today is the 167th year of Bank of the Philippine Islands where I used to work. It was established on August 01, 1851.  It is the oldest bank in the country. The executive lounge of the bank was named 1851 Club, a high-end restaurant where important events and functions are usually held. The bank also  has several function rooms  on the 14th floor where training of bank staff and personnel  and Wednesday masses are held.

I worked with the bank for more than twenty years and availed of an optional retirement back in 2000.  I am posting same picture I posted some years back, the facade of BPI Main Building in Ayala Avenue, Makati  City, the business district of Metro Manila.

I miss the daily walks going to the commercial center  every noon break. I miss the daily morning masses at Greenbelt Chapel. I miss my former office mates some of whom are now officially retired too.  The daily grind of somehow exhausting but fulfilling job, I miss it too.

Make the best happen! I think that’s still BPI’s official tagline.

 

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Make The Best Happen

Happy 163rd Anniversary BPI

photo courtesy of kmcmaggroup.com

I miss this place, it has been my home for  almost  twenty-one years.  Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is the oldest bank in the Philippines and the oldest bank in Southeast Asia. It was founded on August 01, 1851.  It is located at the heart of Makati Central Business District along Ayala Avenue corner Paseo de Roxas.

The bank was  previously named El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel 2 (The Spanish Filipino Bank of Isabel II), in honor of Isabella II, the reigning queen of Spain. Isabella II was the daughter of King Ferdinand VII, who passed away in 1833. I remember the time when all employees of the bank were given a copy of the book Legacy where it detailed the history of the Bank, the awards it garnered through the years. BPI is also known for its firsts as listed below:

• BPI is the first bank in the Philippines, and in Southeast Asia.
• BPI is the first bank to issue the Philippine peso
• Introduced branch banking by opening its first branch outside Manila in Iloilo on March 15, 1897.
• BPI financed the first rail system, telephone system, electric power utility, and steamship service in the Philippines
• BPI established the Philippines’ first ATM system, with its ATMs being called Express Tellers. The system eventually evolved into the Expressnet ATM consortium, which has seven members
• Expressnet is also known for its Express Payment System (EPS), which was at first the debit card system of the BPI Express Teller ATM card.
• BPI pioneered the concept of the banking kiosk in the Philippines, with its kiosks being called Express Banking Centers or EBCs or by its older name, the Convenience Banking Center. EBCs can be found in malls, supermarkets, plazas and other locations and operate beyond normal Philippine banking hours, which are from 9.00 to 15.00 on weekdays.
• The first local bank in the Philippines to introduce 24 hour branch banking called BPI Express.
• BPI is the first bank in the Philippines to make use of a call center and telephone banking, known as BPI Express Phone
• Launched BPI Express Mobile – Mobile Banking facility which enables accountholders to inquire about their deposit, credit card, auto and housing loan and BPI Prepaid Card balances, transfer funds between enrolled deposit accounts, pay bills to over 200 merchants, reload Globe Telecom and Touch Mobile prepaid mobile phones and BPI Express Cash MasterCard Electronic, and transfer money to and from Globe GCash wallet.
• Launched BPI Express Credit Gold MasterCard with Paysafe System, the country’s first EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) compliant chip card.
• The first airline co-brand chip credit card issued in the Philippines – BPI SkyMiles MasterCard and BPI SkyMiles Platinum MasterCard with its partner Delta Air Lines.
• The first local bank in the country to offer most number of third currencies in its products and services – Savings Accounts and Time Deposit Accounts (As of January 2010) (Australian Dollars, Canadian dollars, Swiss Francs, Euros, British Pounds, Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan).
• BPI issued its first Sustainability Report for 2008 along the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the first in the banking industry.
• The first bank to introduce “Bank Anywhere” capability by allowing clients of the bank to transact at any of its more than 800 BPI branches ‘free of charge’
• Introduced the country’s first branchless bank – BPI Globe Savings Bank (BanKo) using Mobile Money Technology (MMT) (December 2009).
• Introduced the country’s first Mobile Mall – BPI Express Mobile – Mobile Mall (2009).
• Introduced the country’s first envelope-less deposit machine – Express Deposit (2012).

Bank with Bank of the Philippine Islands, “Make The Best Happen”.

(credits go  to BPI Mag and Wikipedia for these  wonderful write-ups).

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