RIZAL COMMERCIAL BANKING CORP.’s (RCBC) virtual bank Diskartech would target micro, small and medium enterprises and individuals.

RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp.’s (RCBC) virtual bank app Diskartech will soon allow users to apply for loans, according to a company official.

The loan feature would become available next month, with about 10 types of credit offerings, Angelito M. Villanueva, chief innovation and inclusion officer at the Philippine lender, told an online news briefing on Wednesday.

These include doctor and housing loans, as well as financing passenger cars including second-hand ones, trucks, taxis, multi-cabs and tricycles.

The bank would target micro, small and medium enterprises and individuals, Mr. Villanueva said. “We are looking at disbursing for this phase one partnership with lending partners  around half-a-billion pesos,” he added.

Loans would be processed online — from the submission of documents to crediting of the loans through the free Diskartech app. Loans may be approved in as short as 72 hours.

Interest will range from 8-12% depending on the loan type, and terms of as long as three years, Mr. Villanueva said.

The app will allow borrowers to access credit from RCBC itself by the third or fourth quarter. Credit line through the app would initially be provided by lending platforms including Asialink Finance Corp., he said.

The Tagalog-English app that started in July would also now become available in the Visayan language. Its users can open a basic deposit account that does not require an initial deposit or maintaining balance.

Diskartech also offers bill payment services and free fund transfers through InstaPay for the rest of 2021.

RCBC’s 2020 net income fell by 7% to P5 billion from a year earlier due to higher loan loss provisions. Its shares were unchanged at the close of trading on Wednesday at P17 apiece. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

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