MANILA - The Aquino administration launched a cashless purchase system at today's Good Governance Summit in a bid to reduce chances for corruption. Under the system, government's financial transactions will be made through electronic means instead of cash or checks. The cashless card will function like a credit card, which government employees and offices can use for their procurement needs. The cashless system is a joint effort between the Aquino administration and Citibank. The system will initially be implemented across three agencies including the budget and defense departments and the Armed Forces. "The presence of large sums of cash in offices can pose temptation to even the most honest employee not to mention those that take advantage of such situations. we are far from being a cashless society 98% of all retail financial transaction in our country are still in cash the government seems ahead of the market with 54% of its financial transactions already done on cashless system," he said. "The cashless purchase cards will allow them to procure the necessary materials immediately and given that accounting for those transactions are automatically done suspicious use of the card can be tracked easily. on top of that, this system also allows us to capture and collate the correct data which redounds to real benefits." ANC DATELINE PHILIPPINES, January 15, 2014