Salmon Bank and PSA Partner To Make It Easier For Filipinos to Open a Bank Account

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and Salmon Bank (Rural Bank) Inc. have partnered to bring Filipinos a faster, simpler path to opening a bank account through the integration of the National ID Authentication Services (NIDAS) into Salmon Bank’s customer onboarding process.

For customers, this partnership makes it easier to open a Salmon Bank account, allowing them to complete their application by simply scanning their National ID QR Code and completing a liveness check, eliminating the need to present or upload physical IDs.

The integration also allows Salmon Bank to perform secure, real-time identity verification through the National ID system, further strengthening the bank’s fraud defenses. By matching customer applications against government-held biometric records, Salmon Bank can more effectively detect fabricated identities and flag suspicious account applications early, allowing the bank to expand access while maintaining strong risk management standards.

“With 94 million Filipinos now registered and holding a National ID number, the infrastructure for financial inclusion is already in place. This integration lets us build on that, making it simpler for millions of Filipinos to open a bank account, while giving us the tools to do it securely and responsibly,” said Raffy Montemayor, Deputy CEO of Salmon Bank.

This move aligns with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ push for wider National ID adoption across the financial sector, a key part of the country’s digital transformation and financial inclusion agenda.

To date, NIDAS has also recorded over 186 million successful authentications, 73 million of which are from financial and private institutions.

“[This collaboration] demonstrates how the government and the private sector can work together to make digital services more accessible and secure for Filipinos. I want to thank the team at Salmon Bank for walking this path with the PSA. Together, let us continue building a future where trusted identity empowers every Filipino to be financially included and participate in our growing digital society,” said Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General of the Philippine Statistics Authority, who was represented by Assistant Secretary Rosalinda P. Bautista, Deputy National Statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office.

For Salmon Bank, this partnership is one step in a longer journey. The Bank remains committed to breaking down the barriers that have long kept Filipinos from formal financial services, and to building products that are not just accessible, but reliable and rewarding for the people who use them.

Salmon Bank (Rural Bank) Inc. is regulated by the BangkoSentral ng Pilipinas (http://www.bsp.gov.ph). Deposits are accepted only within bank premises or through authorized bank channels. Deposits are insured by PDIC up to PHP 1 million per depositor.