RCBC looks to make all loan products available via digital platforms

RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) is looking to make all its loan products available through multiple digital channels, starting with the launch of its enhanced mobile application.

“We will make it really easy for any Filipino, may it be individual or MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) or corporate, to be able to access funds digitally,” RCBC Executive Vice-President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Angelito “Lito” M. Villanueva said in an interview last week.

The mobile app is the first of several digital channels to be launched by RCBC this year, Mr. Villanueva noted.

He added that the bank expects a significant increase in loans disbursed digitally following the launch of these platforms, with bulk of the demand for credit expected to come from the corporate sector.

“Of course, the big ones would be from corporate loans. Those are the big-ticket loans… But it’s really more having to cover more sectors and having to cater to them through the most convenient way possible, which is through digital,” Mr. Villanueva said.

The Yuchengco-led bank is also looking to use social media or social messaging apps to increase loan disbursements, he said.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Aside from the digital platforms, Mr. Villanueva said RCBC is looking to roll out more initiatives to boost financial inclusion this year following the launch of Moneybela in November 2022, the country’s first mobile human-assisted remote banking service. It uses e-tricycles to offer banking services through DiskarTech.

RCBC also targets to deploy 10,000 ATM Go terminals by yearend, a 643% increase from the 1,500 terminals it had as of end-2022, Mr. Villanueva added.

“We are also the only Philippine bank that is present in all 82 provinces nationwide through our ATM Go terminals,” he said.

About 90% of all transactions made through ATM Go are done outside of the National Capital Region, Mr. Villanueva said.

More than 65% of the transactions made via ATM Go being cash withdrawals for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, he added.

“That’s why if you noticed, RCBC has been very aggressive in terms of scaling its products and services and having that impact and number in terms of scale and traction, given its target market,” Mr. Villanueva said. — A.M.C. Sy