About bank

Bank of Florida (BOF) is a Philippines-based bank that offers financial services and products to customers in Central Luzon. The bank is focused on building homegrown success for the inhabitants of rural Luzon by empowering SMEs. BOF offers deposits, loans, and other services to its customers.

BOF was founded in 1964 and named Rural Bank of Florida. It was registered by SEC, and in 1995 the name was changed to Bank of Florida. The bank has played a significant role in empowering the inhabitants of Pampanga by funding their agricultural projects. Over the years, the bank has offered financial aid to industrialists in the Pampanga region of Luzon and beyond. The bank has also partnered with Rural Bankers Association, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Philippine Payment Management International to offer financial solutions to the small and medium-sized businesses in the countryside. BOF is headquartered in San Fernando City in Pampanga and is regulated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Pros and cons

It’s always important to consider the bank’s pros and cons carefully to make a sensible decision.

Pros

• They offer a wide range of savings accounts to suit each customer's needs.
• They offer flexible and affordable loans to empower small and medium businesses. The loans are processed daily fast.
• They have low minimum deposit requirements for activating savings accounts.
• Their Internet banking enables customers to make and receive payments fast and conveniently.

Cons

• Payments made after 3 pm take up to two working days to reflect in the recipient's account, which can be inconvenient.
• Bank loans take long to approve, which is not convenient in case of an emergency.

Products

The BOF offers its customers and MSMEs loans, deposits, and other financial services.

Deposits

• Kiddie savings account. Kiddie is a savings account for kids. To open this account, one needs a valid ID of the guardian, the kid's birth certificate, and a minimum deposit of ₱100. You can track all the transactions through a passbook and the maintenance balance is ₱100. The savings earn a 0.25% interest per annum. To earn interest, the average daily balance should be ₱500.
• Basic savings account. To open this account, the Bank of Florida requires any proof of identity and a minimum deposit of ₱100. Customers track transactions on their passbooks, and the interest rate is 0.25% per annum. The account requires no maintaining balance. When customers savings hit ₱50000, the account gets converted to an Easy Savings account.
• Easy savings account. You need a valid ID and a ₱100 minimum deposit to open this account. The minimum maintaining balance is ₱100 and savings earn a 0.25% interest annually. Your account should have a minimum average daily balance of ₱1000 to earn interest. You can track all transactions on your passbook.
• Personal checking account.You should have a valid ID and a ₱2000 minimum deposit to activate this account. The bank records all transactions on a passbook. The checkbook costs ₱250, and a minimum maintaining balance is ₱2000. For your account to earn interest, the daily average balance should be ₱5000 or more. You will receive your checkbook 3-4 weeks after opening your account.
• Business checking account. Business owners can open an interest-bearing business checking account with the Bank of Florida and get a checkbook in 3-4 weeks. The minimum deposit to activate this account is ₱5000. When opening the account, you should have valid business documents, a valid ID, and a minimum deposit. Savings earn a 0.25% interest per annum with a ₱10000 minimum daily average.
• Time deposit account. The time deposit account is an interest-bearing account that requires an average ₱5000 daily balance. To open this account, you need a valid ID and a minimum deposit of ₱5000. The interest rates on savings depend on the amount you deposit and how long your savings last in the account. High savings staying in the account longer will attract more interest.

Note that the bank charges for other services; therefore, before opening an account, you should check out all the charges such as transaction and fund transfer charges.

Loans

The Bank of Florida offers the following loans to its customers.

• Agricultural loans. Animal and crop farmers can access low-interest loans from the bank to fund their farming activities. The loans include corn, palay, piggery, fishpond, duck, and goat raising loans.
• Business loans.Medium and small merchandise enterprise (MSME) owners can access business loans to tailor fit their business goals. The payment plan is flexible and ranges between 1 month to 10 years. Applicants of this loan are required to provide relevant documents to prove business ownership.
• Real estate loans.Real estate developers are eligible for a loan to acquire property and fund construction. The loan starts from ₱50000 and is payable for up to 10 years. To apply for this loan, you should provide proof of land ownership or a payslip if you are employed. Self-employed customers are required to attach business documents to the loan application form.
• Industrial loans. Industrial plant owners can access the industrial loan to fund raw material purchases and meet the manufacturing costs. The minimum loanable amount is ₱5000. The payment plan is flexible and ranges from 1 to 120 months.
• Truck loans. BOF funds up to 70% of the retail cost for customers who want to acquire trucks through truck loans. Customers borrowing this loan will enjoy flexible payment terms and first processing. Also, their amortization is affordable.
• Consumer loans. There are five different types of consumer loans offered to customers. They include fast cash loans, auto loans, home loans, deposit hold-out loans, and SSS pensioners loans.

Services

BOF offers the following financial services:

• Bills payment. Account-holders can settle payments directly from their account through e-cPAY.
• Fund transfers. PESONet allows customers to transfer funds from their accounts to other accounts.
• Remittances. BOF offers a platform to send money internationally to recipients using Western Wnion, PeraHub, Moneygram, and BDO Remit.
• Foreign currency exchange. BOF buys and sells money in different currencies, including the US dollar.