By Alithea De Jesus
Admit it or not, the pandemic has truly affected everyone we know. It has caused anxiety as health and safety concerns coupled with economic and income uncertainties weighed down every Juan and Juana, setting back a broad spectrum of businesses.
With the global pandemic bringing economic uncertainty, a little financial security goes a long way.
This is what the thirty-eight-year-old Harold Carbo, an accountant from Zambales and the breadwinner of his family. He is very particular about the way he manages his finances and how he spends his hard-earned money.
For his savings, Carbo sets aside a portion of his earnings in DiskarTech, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) finance super app.
“Isang benefit kapag nag-open ka ng DiskarTech mas mataas ang interest rate kumpara sa ibang bank. Sa DiskarTech, 3.25 percent, doon pa lang makikita na ang advantage (One benefit of using the DiskarTech app is you get to enjoy an interest rate that is higher than other banks. At 3.25 percent, you already see a clear advantage),” Carbo says.
DiskarTech is a basic deposit account that earns 3.25 percent in annual interest for all its users, regardless of amount deposited.
Encouraging Filipinos to save is an advocacy of DiskarTech. To encourage people to get into this helpful habit, DiskarTech gave its users a head-start on their savings goal through the Ipon Galing program.
In January, DiskarTech gifted users with “Ipon Rewards” that amount to a five percent rebate of transacted amount for every qualified transaction.
It also promised to double the average daily balance of winner lucky users via the “Doble Ipon” incentive.
“Nalaman ko ‘yung promo sa Facebook page (ng DiskarTech) tapos tiningnan ko ‘yung terms and conditions, tapos sinunod ko lang po ‘yung requirements pero hindi ako nag-expect na mananalo kasi nga iniisip ko na maraming depositors ‘yung DiskarTech (I found out about the promo through DiskarTech’s Facebook page. I checked the terms and conditions and followed the requirements. I didn’t expect to win knowing there are many DiskarTech users),” Carbo recalls.
After the month-long promo, Carbo was chosen as one of the winners for Luzon and won a total of P30,299.15 which brought his savings to more than P60,000.00.
Carbo used the excess from his DiskarTech account, which has a mandated threshold of P50,000 to invest in stocks. Using his DiskartTech account remains a convenient way to manage his finances, he says.
“Definitely mare-recommend ko ‘to. (I would definitely recommend this),” he adds.
It was also through recommendations that Liezl Villarmia of Metro Manila learned about DiskarTech and its Ipon Galing promo.
Villarmia was among the winners for Metro Manila who earned P10,606.08, which was her average daily balance during the promo period.
For her, having opened a savings account and winning the “Doble Ipon” incentive was of perfect timing.
“Nalaman ko na nanalo ako birthday ko po saka nalaman ko rin na buntis ako. (I found out I won the promo on my birthday. On the same day, I found out I was pregnant),” Villarmia recalls.
She and her husband have been trying to conceive for five years now.
While her husband was abroad, Villarmia also did her share in earning for their family. Through her prepaid loading business, she helped her husband save for a house they could call their own.
Thanks to the DiskarTech mobile app, she now enjoys faster transactions. What’s more, she enjoys the promos that help her earn more and save more.
“Malaking tulong sa amin ang DiskarTech. Ang store naming ay isang loading station din. May bills payment, load, eh malakas bills payment namin kaya medyo nakatulong sa amin sobra ‘yan kasi ang laki po ng kinikita namin. Kaya sobrang laking tulong po talaga, siyempre panggastos kay baby, pandagdag sa negosyo, pandagdag puhunan (DiskarTech helps us a lot with our business. We have a loading station. The app also allowed us to offer bills payment services, which we used a lot. Now, we have extra money for our baby’s needs and our business),” she says.
Villarmia admits that she and her husband used to spend mindlessly on things they don’t need. All this changed when they got married and ran their business together. They realized the importance of having savings for the rainy days.
The pandemic has forced Villarmia’s husband to stay in the country and take care of their business. Meanwhile, Villarmia has decided to use her winnings to invest which she hopes would keep their growing family afloat in this pandemic.
It was also during the pandemic lockdowns that 25-year-old Honeylyn Delleva discovered the DiskarTech app. The Taglish language and user-friendly interface drew her in, along with the many features she was able to conveniently access.
Honeylyn is Ipon Galing’s biggest winner in Visayas, taking home P5,264.18 from the promo. She hopes to save this amount to help support her family and eventually finish her studies.
While all that will still take a while, she also decided to avail of another offer from the app.
“T-in-ry ko lang po pagpindot ng insurance tapos nagbayad lang ako tapos in-encode ko lang ano trabaho ko para sa insurance. Unang beses akong nagkaroon ng insurance. Lagi po akong lumalabas, nagbibiyahe, kaya doon naisipan ko pong kumuha ng insurance para just in case (I just tried pressing “Insurance” on the menu, paid the amount, typed in my personal information, and that’s it! It was the first time to have an insurance plan. I always commute and get exposed, and given the pandemic we’re in, I thought it might help me in the future),” she shares.
RCBC’s DiskarTech remains committed to its goal of greater financial inclusion for every Filipino through various campaigns that center on how the user can maximize the financial app.
DiskarTech’s wide reach allows even the underserved Filipinos from the provinces to take part in such promotions. In fact, another winner from Mindanao won close to P 31,000 in the Ipon Galing promo.
The app continues to grow, charting 146 % growth in their daily deposits in January, compared to its 2020 average.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas says more and more people are inclined to save given the economic uncertainty because of the pandemic and the isolation of the lockdowns.
RCBC is one of the leading universal banks accelerating digital transformation in the Philippines. It was judged in 2020 as the Philippines’ best digital bank by the Asiamoney and Alpha Southeast Asia, among other global and regional recognitions. It is also the first local universal bank to have the most extensive reach with registered customers from across all 81 provinces nationwide through its mobile apps RCBC Mobile and DiskarTech. Its digital products include RCBC mobile and online banking, handheld ATM Go mobile point-of-sale terminals, and DiskarTech, among others. DiskarTech was recognized as the 2020 breakout finance app in the country by App Annie, a global data analytics firm covering all mobile applications worldwide.