Getting the Money

November 21, 2010.

The day had finally arrived.

Inigo woke up before sunrise, his nerves refusing to let him sleep any longer. Today was the day—his first-ever payout from Google AdMob.

After weeks of waiting, running around securing IDs, opening a dollar account, and ensuring that everything was properly linked, he was finally about to touch his money.

Or so he thought.

His old Blueberry phone buzzed, the vibration rattling against the wooden nightstand.

BDO: Good morning, Mr. Pascual. We request your presence at the branch where you opened your account. The recent remittance to your USD savings account has been placed on hold for verification. Kindly bring necessary documents for clearance.

Inigo stared at the message, reading it twice. Then a third time.

The money was on hold?

A sharp exhale escaped his lips. He should have expected this.

A six-figure dollar deposit into a brand-new account with no prior transaction history? Of course, it would raise flags at the bank. To them, this screamed money laundering.

He ran a hand through his hair. This was a problem—but not one he couldn't fix.

He moved quickly, gathering everything he would need to clear up the situation.

[BDO Passbook – Proof that the account was under his name.

Bank Application Forms – To show that the account was recently opened for legitimate transactions.

Google AdMob Earnings Dashboard Screenshot – The most important document. This would prove that the funds came from a real business.

Google Payment Receipt Email – Google sent a payout confirmation email each time a payment was issued. This would serve as proof that the remittance was legitimate.

University ID & Postal ID – Just in case they needed further identification.]

Once everything was neatly placed in a brown envelope, Inigo took a deep breath. This should be enough.

But there was no telling how strict the bank manager would be.

BDO Branch – Verification Process

By 9:00 AM, Inigo arrived at the bank, stepping inside with a calm expression. The moment he reached the reception desk, the teller recognized him.

"Mr. Pascual?" she asked, glancing at the monitor.

"Yes, that's me. I received a message about my remittance being placed on hold."

"Understood, sir. Kindly wait a moment. I'll inform our bank manager."

She stood up and disappeared behind a frosted glass door.

Moments later, an older man in a navy blue suit emerged. He was in his late 40s, with a receding hairline and sharp, calculating eyes—the type of person who had seen every trick in the book when it came to suspicious transactions.

"Mr. Pascual," the man greeted, motioning for him to follow. "I'm Mr. Santiago, the branch manager. Please, step into my office."

The office was simple yet professional, with a mahogany desk, leather chairs, and a glass cabinet filled with banking documents.

Mr. Santiago gestured for Inigo to take a seat.

"I assume you know why you're here," the manager said, folding his hands together.

Inigo nodded. "Yes, sir. My recent remittance was placed on hold."

Mr. Santiago gave a slow, deliberate nod. "That's correct. Your account was just opened a few weeks ago, and suddenly, you receive a large deposit—over four hundred thousand US dollars. Naturally, this raised some concerns."

He leaned forward. "Now, Mr. Pascual, I'll be direct. Can you explain the source of these funds?"

Without hesitation, Inigo opened the brown envelope and pulled out the documents.

He started with the most important document—the Google AdMob earnings dashboard screenshot.

"This money is from my mobile game, Flappy Bird," Inigo explained, sliding the paper across the desk. "I developed it, published it on the Google Play Store, and monetized it with ads."

"Flappy bird?!" Santiago exclaimed.

Inigo got a little shocked from his sudden exclamation. "Yes…you know the game?"

"Everyone knows that game! I am playing it just now 

Mr. Santiago reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an iPhone 4.

He swiped across the screen, opened an app, and turned it around to show Inigo.

The familiar yellow bird bounced up and down, waiting for its next unfortunate attempt at survival.

Flappy Bird.

Inigo blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

"You were playing it just now?" he repeated.

Mr. Santiago chuckled, setting the phone on the table. "I was waiting for you earlier, so I decided to give it another go." He tapped the screen. "This damn game is harder than it looks."

The bird flapped forward.

THUD.

Game Over.

A red box appeared on the screen: Score: 8.

Mr. Santiago sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Eight. That's the highest I've gotten. My wife got twelve, and now she won't let me hear the end of it." He gave Inigo a look. "And you're telling me you made this game?"

Inigo smirked slightly. "Yes, sir."

The bank manager leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. He seemed to be re-evaluating everything he had just read in the documents.

"You see the ads there?" Inigo pointed.

Mr. Santiago's eyes followed where Inigo was pointing. The banner ad at the top of the game flickered, displaying an ad for a well-known mobile network provider.

 "That's how I am making money."

He let out a low hum. "So every time someone plays and sees one of these ads… you make money?"

Inigo nodded. "Exactly. And when they click it, I earn even more."

The bank manager drummed his fingers on the desk, looking impressed. "So that's how this works… no wonder people are saying mobile gaming is the future."

He looked back at the Google AdMob earnings dashboard screenshot that Inigo had provided. The numbers weren't just high—they were still increasing by the second.

"This is legitimate," Mr. Santiago finally said, exhaling. "I've seen remittances from tech companies before, but nothing like this from an independent developer. Honestly, I thought this was some overseas syndicate funneling money through a fresh account."

Inigo remained calm. "Understandable, sir. But as you can see, it's just a game that got bigger than I expected."

Santiago nodded. "And you've got the receipts to back it up." He took one last look at the payment confirmation email from Google before standing up.

"Well, Mr. Pascual, everything checks out." He extended his hand. "Your funds will be fully cleared and released by the end of the day. But I do have another proposal."

"Proposal?" Inigo raised his brows.

Mr. Santiago clasped his hands together, his expression shifting from cautious professionalism to something far more business-like.

"Yes. Given the scale of your earnings and the rapid growth of your business, I'd like to offer you priority banking services with BDO," he explained.

Inigo's fingers tapped against the armrest of his chair. Priority banking? He wasn't too familiar with banking tiers, but he knew that banks treated high-value clients differently.

Mr. Santiago continued, "Right now, you have a standard US Dollar Savings Account, which is fine for regular transactions. But with the kind of remittances you'll be receiving, you may want to consider setting up a BDO Private Banking or Preferred Account instead."

"Why?" Inigo asked, genuinely curious.

The manager leaned slightly forward, his tone becoming more persuasive.

"Well, your earnings aren't just a one-time thing. If your game continues its trajectory, you're going to receive large foreign currency deposits every month. A standard personal account isn't designed to handle that volume efficiently. Not to mention, you'll likely need better financial management solutions down the line."

"I see—well I'm going to discuss it another day, I have a busy schedule," Inigo said, chuckling.

"Is that so? Then let's schedule an appointment, when are you free?" Santiago asked.

"I don't know, I'll just drop by and apply for an appointment," Inigo replied.

"Very well. That's all for now, thank you for your cooperation."

The two men rose to their feet and shook their hands.

With that, it was sealed, he now has the money, he could finally help in the household and spoil his little sister.