Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) digital innovations registered massive growth in the first quarter of the year as the bank continues to push for wider financial inclusion and digital acceleration in the country.
RCBC booked a 205-percent increase in revenues for its three digital platforms as of end-March 2022 versus same period last year. Due to its sustained growth, the bank is also among the leading financial institutions in terms of gross transaction value for the digital banking segment.
With 69 percent of its user base located across all 81 provinces in the country, RCBC’s first Taglish and Cebuano financial inclusion super app DiskarTech registered over Php4.18 billion in gross transaction value as of end-March this year, an 862-percent increase compared to 2021 values. This was generally driven by high-volume transactions across different services offered in the app which also noted a 265-percent increase from last year.
Among key transactions done through DiskarTech, partner deposits remain to be the largest contributor to the app’s overall growth, registering 1,137-percent and 308-percent in both transaction value and volume respectively. DiskarTech’s deposit size stands at over Php106 million, a 120-percent increase from the same quarter last year.
These cash-in and cash-out transactions are being done in over 45,000 touch-points nationwide that includes 7-Eleven, Bayad Center, DigiPay, Panalo Express, Sendah Direct, rural banks, pawnshops, drugstores, and money service business, among others. DiskarTech partner deposits are also projected to surge in the next quarters of the year as the app further expands its cash-in points across the country through its partnership with Smart Padala.
Moreover, DiskarTech fund transfers via the InstaPay rail also noted a steady increase as of end-March. Outgoing InstaPay transfers to other banks and e-wallets hiked to 944 percent and 336 percent in both value and volume, respectively. Incoming InstaPay transfers also increased by 84 percent and 31 percent in both transaction value and volume, respectively.
More DiskarTech users also availed of its telemedicine service this quarter with a recorded 1,821-percent increase in transaction count, which also accounted for a 98-percent hike in the service’s transaction value. Users’ uptake of the app’s telemedicine feature is a strong indication that more and more Filipinos are now seeing the value of digital-based medical consultation packages as compared to the one’s offered in hospitals and clinics.
Bills payment transactions done through DiskarTech also continued on an uptrend this quarter with a 183-percent and 80-percent increase in both value and volume, respectively.
“The sustained exponential growth of RCBC’s DiskarTech this quarter is only indicative that Filipinos are now getting more comfortable with digital financial transactions. We’re delighted that through DiskarTech, we are able to contribute to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ national goal of onboarding 70 percent of adult Filipinos into the formal financial system and converting at least 50 percent of financial transactions to digital,” said Eugene S. Acevedo, RCBC’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
RCBC Digital and ATM Go
Meanwhile, RCBC’s primary mobile banking app RCBC Digital, registered a 31-percent increase in total throughput volume for its mobile and web channels, generating a value of over Php34 billion, a 51-percent hike this quarter from last year. More RCBC accountholders also used the app’s web version this quarter with a 41-percent growth in volume as of end-March this year.
RCBC Digital also launched early this year its simplified new-to-bank registration (NTBR) feature which allows prospective clients to open an RCBC account and transact using the mobile app without having to apply in physical RCBC branches.
Likewise, RCBC’s neighborhood mobile point-of-sale terminal (mPOS) ATM Go also recorded a 22-percent increase in year-to-date transaction volume with a total throughput value of over Php1.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022. As of end-March this year, 1,239 ATM Go terminals have been deployed to partner merchants in 76 out of 81 provinces of the country including the recent onboarding of new partners from Basilan and Abra. Over 60 percent of its transactions are cash withdrawals done by CCT Pantawid beneficiaries in 3rd to 5th class municipalities.
“Seeing the continuous growth of RCBC’s digital platforms, we become even more inspired to offer more convenient and responsive products and innovations to our fellow Filipinos. Soon, we are set to launch our exciting loans products for DiskarTech. We have also expanded our collaborations with more private partners and local government units. All these are aimed to push inclusive digital finance in the country even further,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer.