The good news is that, since 2008, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) has required bank customers to present only one (1) valid or government ID when opening a new bank account. A BSP circular issued on June 2008 relaxed the bank’s requirement on the number and type of IDs accepted when a customer tries to open a new account.
The move is meant to “promote access of Filipinos to services offered by formal financial institutions,” as well as to “encourage and facilitate remittances of OFWs through the banking system,” according to the BSP memo.
The bad news, however, is that some banks still require two (2) valid IDs when opening a bank account. Why the BSP cannot forcefully implement its own circular eludes us. It is difficult to argue with banks to accept just one ID, of course, since they are the ones approving your bank account application.
But if you want to know which identification cards can be validly used to open a bank account in the Philippines, continue reading below.
List of Valid IDs you can show when opening a bank account
The BSP has approved the following IDs as valid to be presented to banks when opening a new savings account:
- Passport
- Driver’s License
- Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID
- National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance
- Police Clearance
- Postal ID
- Voter’s ID
- Barangay Certification
- Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) e-Card
- Social Security System (SSS) Card
- Senior Citizen Card
- Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ID
- OFW ID
- Seaman’s Book
- Alien Certificate of Registration / Immigrant Certificate of Registration
- Government Office and GOCC ID / Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ID / Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) ID
- Certification from the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Certification
- Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID
- Company IDs issued by private entities or institutions registered with or supervised or regulated either by the BSP, SEC, or Insurance Commission
Students who are beneficiaries of OFW remittances and are not yet of voting age can still open an account by presenting the original photo-bearing school ID duly signed by the principal or head of school and submitting a clear copy of that ID.
UPDATE: We’ve received feedback from our readers that some banks still do not accept Postal ID or Voter’s ID or even an official Company ID. The BSP itself has reaffirmed the validity of these IDs, so try to politely request to see a BSP circular that disallows the following. Unfortunately, though, in the end, the decision whether we can open an account lies with the bank. Since we’re the ones availing of the service, they can choose not to approve our application.
See also: How to open a bank account in the Philippines (for foreigners and Filipinos)
