From Back End News
By: Marlet D. Salazar
With financial inclusion at the core of its development, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) officially launches DiskarTech, an app that is intended not only as a payment method but offers select banking services.
Considered to be the country’s first all-in-one “Taglish” inclusion super app, DiskarTech is aimed at providing “sachet banking services” to the unbanked Filipinos in the country — especially those in the C, D, and E income bracket — and those who are overseas. (Taglish is a contraction of Tagalog, one of the widely used languages in the Philippines and English. There are a number of English words that have been adopted to or localized.)
“When we talk about financial inclusion, it is not only about payments or loans,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer. “It is a complete suite of financial services that include payments, investments, savings insurance, and even lending.”
The app eliminates all the paperwork needed to open accounts in banks. DiskarTech users can easily and quickly create their own basic deposit accounts through one-time registration via an electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) digital process. Opening a DiskarTech digital savings account does not require an initial amount or maintaining balance.
3.25% interest
“The change brought about by this new normal has challenged us to be even more relevant as we move forward in this new way of banking. DiskarTech will be our legacy to the young and tech-savvy Filipinos,” said Helen Yuchengco-Dee, chair, RCBC.
Registered and verified deposit account holders are entitled to 3.25% interest per annum. Most Philippine banks offer lower than 1% interest rate per annum. The app included a goal-oriented feature that encourages users to set financial goals. It would give them prompts on their progress in achieving a goal.
Other DiskarTech features include cardless ATM withdrawals, deposits, and cash out from thousands of agent partners nationwide, including fund transfers, with just a few clicks on the app. The app’s services also include bills payments to major billers and government services, telemedicine, purchase of airtime load and gaming pins, quick response (QR) code transfers, among others. More services will be introduced soon, such as microinsurance and skills marketplace for enterprising Filipinos.
Digital financial ecosystem
“Our digital finance ecosystem must be inclusive to ensure that no one is left behind,” said BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno in his keynote during the virtual launch. “We must leverage this momentum to drive technology-driven financial inclusion not only by promoting the use of digital financial services but also increasing consumer trust and confidence.”
Diokno said that at least half of retail payment transactions will shift to digital in three years. He also sees 70% of adult Filipinos having and using a transaction account by the end of his term in 2023. A three-year digital payments transformation roadmap has been drafted by the BSP in pursuit of this objective. “One of the priority policy initiatives lined up is open banking,” Diokno added.
RCBC hopes to enable micro, small, and medium enterprises to organize their financial systems in order to remain competitive in their local economy. According to Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry, the agency will promote DiskarTech through training programs across DTI’s more than 1,000 Negosyo Centers nationwide.
Earlier, DiskarTech has rolled out its DiskarTech Lite disbursement platform to aid the government in distributing social amelioration cash subsidies.
Source: https://backendnews.net/2020/07/02/rcbc-unveils-super-app-that-offers-multiple-banking-features/