By Andrea E. San Juan, Business Mirror
THE operator of the PalawanPay settlement system launched last Tuesday the account-savings feature of the app in partnership with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
The feature called “PalaSave,” doesn’t require initial deposit and maintaining balance, PPS-PEPP Financial Services Corp. (Palawan Pawnshop) President and CEO Karlo M. Castro said during the launch.
“Traditional savings products often require maintaining balances or initial deposits that can feel out of reach for everyday earners. For many, opening a savings account can still seem intimidating or inaccessible. At Palawanpay, we believe saving should be simple and, more importantly, inclusive,” Castro said.
According to him, users of the new feature can build their saving with as little as P200 for succeeding deposits while earning “competitive” interests on their funds.
Castro said RCBC’s digital app (DiskarTech) provides backbone of “PalaSave.”
He didn’t disclose the worth of this partnership between his company and the country’s sixth-largest lender in terms of asset.
Castro told reporters they target “PalaSave” to have a million accounts by the end of the year. He added these accounts could be drivers, house helpers, fishermen, market vendors and members of the so-called Generation Z.
He, however, said the target accounts have not yet factored in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“Nobody really knows up to when [this will end]. It’s really very fluid. So we’ll be adjusting not just targets, not just numbers but the goals also depending on what happens in the future,” Castro told reporters.
THE operator of the PalawanPay settlement system launched last Tuesday the account-savings feature of the app in partnership with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
The feature called “PalaSave,” doesn’t require initial deposit and maintaining balance, PPS-PEPP Financial Services Corp. (Palawan Pawnshop) President and CEO Karlo M. Castro said during the launch.
“Traditional savings products often require maintaining balances or initial deposits that can feel out of reach for everyday earners. For many, opening a savings account can still seem intimidating or inaccessible. At Palawanpay, we believe saving should be simple and, more importantly, inclusive,” Castro said.
According to him, users of the new feature can build their saving with as little as P200 for succeeding deposits while earning “competitive” interests on their funds.
Castro said RCBC’s digital app (DiskarTech) provides backbone of “PalaSave.”
He didn’t disclose the worth of this partnership between his company and the country’s sixth-largest lender in terms of asset.
Castro told reporters they target “PalaSave” to have a million accounts by the end of the year. He added these accounts could be drivers, house helpers, fishermen, market vendors and members of the so-called Generation Z.
He, however, said the target accounts have not yet factored in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“Nobody really knows up to when [this will end]. It’s really very fluid. So we’ll be adjusting not just targets, not just numbers but the goals also depending on what happens in the future,” Castro told reporters.
RCBC President and CEO Reginald Anthony B. Cariaso said Palawan’s use of its digital app is a “fundamental shift” in how the bank delivers services.
By embedding the DiskarTech savings app directly into the PalawanPay app, we are “opening doors” for all 23 million PalawanPay users, added Cariaso.
“Think about that scale. We are enabling millions of Filipinos, many who have traditionally been underbanked, to open a formal savings account without having to download a new app or visit a physical bank branch,” he said.
Cariaso said RCBC brings the “regulated infrastructure and security of a leading bank” while PalawanPay brings an “unparalleled grassroots reach and a deep bond of trust with the communities they serve.”
According to Palawan executives, PalaSave was able to onboard 60,000 accounts before it was formally launched on March 24.
Castro said there used to be a “small percentage” of Filipinos saving.
Because of the availability of technology and the reach of not just banks but also e-wallets and other fintechs, “we can see more and more people including what we target now—the masa like the drivers and kasambahays—you can actually see people are starting to save.”
Castro said that the 60,000 accounts of PalaSave is already equivalent to P50 million in savings.
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