The Future of Financial Inclusion Campaigns is “Office-to-Office”, says RCBC
Filipinos without bank accounts may soon find banking services coming directly to their workplace, as Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has set its sights on a new, creative and disruptive approach that will make bank account ownership more accessible and convenient than ever.
Despite the popularity, scale and success of digital banking literacy campaigns in recent years, there are still millions yet to own a formal banking account. According to Lito Villanueva, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer at RCBC, these are financially healthy Filipinos such as members of the Social Security System (SSS), or those who are marginalized, such as people residing in remote and rural areas.
While digital bank onboarding has been speedy and easy for highly-urban and digital-savvy young populations of the country, unbanked Filipinos rely on the warmth and trust conveyed by face-to-face human relationships and brick-and-mortar spaces. On the other hand, complex documentary requirements and limited digital connectivity are two factors that have discouraged broader adoption of formal banking services.
Recently, Villanueva graced the campaign held at Manila Golf Club, whose employees have been tagged as among the financially well and capable yet remain unbanked. Also present during the activity was Robert Joseph de Claro, President and CEO of the Social Security System, highlighting the partnership’s commitment to expanding financial access among Filipino workers.
The latest digital campaign includes highly-trained and specialized personnel from RCBC equipped with financial literacy and account onboarding support to help employees on-site open their first account through RCBC DiskarTech.
RCBC DiskarTech is positioned as a pioneering mass-market financial inclusion application in Taglish and Cebuano. Packed with a wide suite of digital banking services, it became widely downloaded at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and sustained its position as a banking application that’s friendly to first-time banking consumers through its simple user interface in the two major Philippine languages.
The bank is now moving to spaces where people spend a significant amount of their days: their work spaces. This integrated approach presents digital onboarding as easy as getting a cup of coffee, and reduces the need for taking time off from work just to open an account.
From a bank application that has complicated documentary and financial requirements taking days to weeks for approval, RCBC has simplified the bank onboarding process to as fast as five minutes, requiring only one government I.D. and a phone number, subject to standard verification and compliance procedures. For SSS members with their own MySSS accounts, the SSS’s digital platform, opening a RCBC DiskarTech account has an additional perk: a Mastercard-powered debit card.
Launched in partnership with the SSS, the RCBC DiskarTech-powered MySSS Mastercard debit card integrates three financial services into one. First, users can access their MySSS account, second, they can enjoy RCBC DiskarTech banking services, and third, they can unlock card payments for everyday purchases.
The bank’s cultural knowledge around the remaining unbanked has been built upon their success in capturing overlooked consumer segments such as Filipinos in the provinces, low-income communities, and disadvantaged groups.
RCBC DiskarTech’s success in graduating Filipinos from its simple banking services to RCBC’s wide-suite banking services was recognized and amplified by Mastercard. In its pioneering whitepaper on financial inclusion on an Asia-based financial solution, Mastercard highlighted the effectiveness of RCBC’s gamified and localized approach to digital banking, encouraging industry players to learn from the experience.
Villanueva elaborated that the onboarding experience does not end at making Filipinos own a bank account, it should be integrated into their daily lives through consistent usage.
“Beyond deposits and withdrawals, RCBC DiskarTech is designed to prompt the first-time banking consumer to embed banking into every facet of their life. They have access to affordable bank transfers, QR-powered payments for shopping, global and domestic remittances, bills payments, mobile loading, and loan applications,” Villanueva highlighted.
RCBC’s rise as a disruptive digital banking player has attracted significant national and global attention. The bank has been named “Best Bank for Digital” for six consecutive years by Euromoney, making it also the first in Asia to hold a digital title for such a duration. The Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) and the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) have also recognized the bank’s digital arm for its innovative strategies.
While the bank has earned a name for its digital prowess, the success and scale of the next leg of RCBC’s digital banking journey will be in the hands of its most prized consumer segment: the first-time banking consumer.
