My First Debit Card

I just got my first debit card today, my Unionbank EON card. I applied for the card late November and was already at the branch last November 25 (according to Unionbank’s email).

Getting the card took me long. See my story after the jump!

But before that, here’s some stuff I learned during my course to getting the card:

1. Unionbank bought 98.84% of iBank’s share. They already merged. Unionbank transactions can now be transacted on iBank and iBank transactions are now considered Unionbank transactions. It’s up to you to understand!
2. For students like me, a school ID would do instead of having to present two IDs. I also brought a copy of my birth certificate just in case they’d need it.
3. The debit card’s CVV is not printed on the back. Instead, it’s written on the PIN Mailer.
4. There’s no interbranch fees for EON account deposits. But there’s a P100.00 charge for an over-the-counter withdrawal. [TiP: Better use an ATM]

About 2pm, I left home and headed to my mom at DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) to get my P500.00 (courtesy of my godmother). After I got my cold cash, I swiftly rode the trike to Unionbank at Pioneer Avenue. I waited for my turn in the New Accounts section. It was my turn so I gave my application name. The employee told me that my card was still not on their branch. How could that happen? The email says it’s already on the branch since the 26th.

I went out of the bank with a BIG FROWN! Then suddenly something popped in to my mind! During my online application, there were two GenSan branches specified with the same address. So there could be another branch in GenSan. So I went back and asked the security guard if there were other branches and he said that there’s another branch near Acharon Boulevard at iBank [meron dyan sa may Acharon Boulevard banda, sa iBank].

So I decided to get a tricycle to Union Bank Acharon Boulevard. The trike driver asked me if there was a Unionbank branch in Acharon Boulevard and I said yes. He dropped me near iBank at Acharon Boulevard. What the hell, I didn’t know that Acharon Boulevard was not 300 meters away from where I got the trike! I was searching around for a Unionbank branch, almost to give up. Then I tried checking on iBank and saw a large tarpaulin saying “Unionbank transactions can be processed here”. Woah, iBank = Unionbank?

Then I entered the bank. I saw two company names inside: Unionbank and iBank. There’s also an advisory saying that iBank passbooks should be updated to Unionbanks. Did Unionbank buy iBank? Still wondering.

Then I grabbed a chair on the New Accounts section, it was 2:30pm. A security guard was sitting there in front of two phones on the section. The two phones kept on ringing and he kept on answering it. His diction was good, just like mobile telecommunications CSRs. He informed me that the in-charge was still out for break so I still had to wait for the in-charge. I waited for so long that I read two newspapers, skimmed through the bank’s financial report, counted the number of people inside and chunked five candies while waiting.

It was already around 3:50pm when the in-charge came. She immediately attended to my concern. She apologized for the delay and asked my name. Then she searched their BIG VAULT for my card and asked my ID. She saw my card in an envelope and opened it. She asked me to fill a new account form, a signature specimen card, and a Terms and Conditions form. It was unlike any other long form, it was short in short (ang LABO!). Then she gave me my PIN Mailer and card, oriented me on the features and other stuff. She said that my card still needs to be activated so I can’t use it right away. She also asked me the P350.00 annual fee and obviously I handed her my P500.00. She had a short trip to the tellers for the fee, then handed me my change. I asked her if I can already deposit on my account and she replied positive. I gave her back my changed and processed my deposit. Yey, I had my first Unionbank deposit ever in my life!

After that, I went home and made this LOOONG post. Hahahaha.

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2. Customer Care at 4am
3. Don’t Forget to Pay the Bills!!
4. Withdraw PayPal Funds to Philippine Bank Accounts
5. Series of Unfortunate Events