How to get a bank certificate?

As a requirement for a Japanese tourist visa, I needed to get a bank certificate from BDO. To request for one is pretty easy.

In BDO, you need to get the certificate from the branch where you open your account. I know this is quite a hassle. Maybe that’s why when you open an account, they require your home or office address to be near. The good thing is BDO has a separate line for this kind of transactions. I didn’t even have to wait before I got assistance.

For BPI account holders, you can get a bank certificate in any of their branches. They don’t have separate counters for this kind of requests though. You have to go to the normal queue which can be quite long especially during payout dates.

Just present your ID and pay for the processing fee. You also need to fill up the request form (asking for the purpose of the request, the addressee, etc.). Both BDO and BPI charge PHP 100.00 for processing a bank certificate. You can get the certificate straight from the printer on the same day.

Tips:

• List down the addressee details before you go to the bank. I was not aware that they will request for it. I thought it will just be the general and classic “To whom it may concern”. I even had to google the address of the Japanese Embassy. Thankfully, I have data connection that time.
• Only transactions made the (banking) day before you requested for the bank certificate will reflect on your account balance. Be sure to make your deposit ahead of time.