Landbank, Visa launch government credit card with spending controls

CREDIT CARD. Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro (4th from left), Landbank executive vice president Marilou Villafranca (5th from right), and first vice president Kristine Marie Cuevas (4th from right) pose with other representatives of various government agencies. Visa Landbank's government credit card also comes with an expense management system that captures transactions, matches expenses with receipts, and facilitates approval processes MANILA, Philippines – Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) and Visa have launched a customizable government credit card, which they assert will give agencies tighter control over public funds and provide a better audit trail. The Landbank Visa Government Purchase Card (GPC) works much like a corporate credit card issued to agency heads and authorized officers. Agencies can set a credit limit for each cardholder and restrict transactions to approved merchant categories, such as travel, fuel, representation expenses, and low-value purchases. Landbank executive vice president and branch banking group head Marilou Villafranca said the card would reduce the need for employees to request cash advances, spend their own money, and later submit documents for reimbursement or liquidation. “This will cut the manual processes or paper-based cash advances as well as liquidation,” Villafranca said. “Because it works like a credit card, you just use your card and then, upon the billing cycle, the agency will have to pay the entire amount.” Expense management system for government Purchase cards have long been offered to companies, but Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro said the main differentiator in the Landbank program is its accompanying expense management system. The platform will automatically capture transactions, match expenses with receipts, facilitate approval processes, and generate reports showing how much was spent, by whom, and under which department or spending category. Transactions outside an employee’s approved limit or spending rules may be rejected or flagged for further approval. “By providing accurate data, it can allow more financial control and better governance by the implementing institution,” Navarro said. “It’s not just a card na all of a sudden you can just spend digitally.” The platform is scheduled to become fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2026. Villafranca said the system could also be made accessible to the Commission on Audit, allowing state auditors to view spending information using the same data available to the agency. “From the time you use your card, that’s already transparent in the expense management system,” she said. The Bureau of the Treasury is among the first government institutions to adopt the Visa-backed program, which has an expense management system component. Landbank clarified that its wider government purchase card program had already onboarded 107 agencies since 2023. Around 773 cards have so far been issued, mostly to agency heads and senior officers. What is new in the latest rollout is the Visa expense-management system, which 17 government offices are initially set to use. The bank eventually wants to expand the program beyond national government agencies to state universities, government corporations, local governments, and possibly barangays. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading