The Security Bank Corp. of the Philippines and IAD Electronic Network Cash Tellers Inc. have teamed to launch the first cardless ATM withdrawals in the Philippines. The program will be especially helpful to Filipinos working abroad.

The SBC/Encash program, called the electronic gift card Cash Out Channel Partnership, will allow funds from remittances and virtual cash gift cards to be withdrawn at any one of SBC’s 600 ATMs without the use of an ATM card, said an article by the Business Mirror.

The partnership allows remittances by two methods: In the first, the sender loads a gift card already in the recipient’s possession with cash. The beneficiary can then use the card to withdraw cash at the ATM.

In the second method, no gift card is used. The sender sets up the transmission and the recipient is automatically sent a passcode and a PIN that unlock access to the cash. When the money is withdrawn, both the sender and recipient are notified by text message. For cardless transactions, a fee of P50 ($1.22) is assessed to the recipient.

The recipient has 14 days to withdraw the money. After that, it is returned to the sender’s account and the sender receives and SMS notification, the article said.

For more on this topic, visit the transaction processing research center.