THE all-digital banking app Diskartech owned by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has seen an increase in deposit transactions as more clients continue to join the platform.

The platform saw a 42% rise in savings volume in January from the December level while deposits per user picked up by 38%, RCBC said in a statement.

Pressed for details, RCBC said more than half (52%) of Diskartech users belong to the 21-30 age bracket. This was followed by those aged 31 to 40 (30%), 41 to 50 (10%), 18 to 20 (3%), and 61 to 70 (1%).

Nearly half of their platform’s users reside in Luzon (49%), specifically in Metro Manila (31%). This was followed by customers in Visayas (10%) and Mindanao (9%).

The usage volume of the app also surged by more than four times (274%) in January from the average seen last year.

“These numbers are very promising showcasing Filipinos’ resiliency amidst this challenging time. We hope to be a partner of every Filipino in our collective quest towards economic recovery,” RCBC Executive Vice-President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Angelito “Lito” M. Villanueva was quoted as saying.

Diskartech was launched in July. Its offerings include a basic deposit account that does not require an initial deposit amount and a maintaining balance. It also features card-less ATM withdrawals and allows deposits and cash-outs from agent partners.

The bank hopes to attract more users into using the platform through its 3.25% annual interest on savings.

Mr. Villanueva earlier said they hope to attract Filipinos who are either underbanked or unbanked to the platform which has a Tagalog-English interface.

Central bank data showed only 29% of Filipino adults had formal bank accounts in 2019, leaving behind 51.2 million still unbanked.

RCBC’s net income decreased 7% to P5 billion last year from P5.388 billion in 2019 as the bank ramped up provisioning for credit losses to manage risks during the crisis.

Its shares closed unchanged at P17.50 apiece on Tuesday. — L.W.T. Noble

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