THE Bureau of Immigration will soon allow electronic payment through credit cards for foreigners applying for a visa extension.
In a memorandum of agreement signed by Commissioner Ronaldo Geron, the bureau will accept credit card payments for foreigners who wish to extend their stay in the Philippines.
The bureau plans to implement the e-payment scheme by the end of the month.
“The online payment system will provide a convenient way to our clients to conduct their businesses in the bureau,” Geron said in a statement.
Under the scheme, foreigners who wish to extend their stay in the country will no longer queue at the main office just to have their visa extended.
“All they have to do is to log on to the immigration website, www.immigration.gov.ph, fill up the form for visa extension, pay the amount through their credit card and wait for the printable receipts,” Geron said.
The printable receipts will also indicate the date when the client will go to the bureau’s main office to have their passport stamped.
The BI chief added that the e-payment scheme is fast and secured as payment will be handled by Global Payments, a subsidiary of Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Geron said that other visa payments will follow soon as the bureau innovate its payment schemes for the convenience of the transacting public.
“We are doing this to ensure that all possible glitches have been seen and addressed before we add-on to the services.”
He assured that the government did not spend a single centavo for the scheme, stressing that the transaction fees will be shouldered by the foreigners.
The transaction fee, Geron said, costs more or less $10 or P300.
Kay dela Paz, country head of the Global Payments, said that payments made will go direct to BI account.
“We are not a depository bank. All payments made go directly to the bureau,” Dela Paz said.