Surigao-based Cantilan Bank, Inc. has launched an app backed by international development institutions which is expected to expand the reach of financial services in rural communities.

The app facilitates bill payment, fund transfer, and load top-up for prepaid services. Through the platform, merchants can also offer Code Cash In and Cash Out services.

The project was supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corp. (IFC)

“Cantilan Bank demonstrated that a small rural bank can also be innovative and technologically-adept,” ADB Chief of the Finance Sector Group Junkyu Lee said in a statement Friday.

IFC provided advisory services to the bank to develop its omni-channel mobile banking and payment services.

“We look forward to supporting the team in their next steps, which will involve providing the next level of innovation in mobile banking in a sustainable and relevant manner to the communities that they serve,” IFC Global Digital Finance Specialist Lowell Campbell said.

The bank has secured a license and approvals from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to operate as an Electronic Money Issuer – Bank, to engage in agency banking services, and to offer electronic payment and financial services.

Cantilan Bank has a network of 46 branches and branch lines in the Visayas and Mindanao.

It had total assets of P2.3 billion at the end of December. – Luz Wendy T. Noble

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR