News Archive

The United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines–Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program conducted a Regional GCASH Accreditation Training for North Luzon rural banks in Clarkfield Pampanga last October 28, 2011.

The Globe GXI team – composed of their training team, North Luzon area managers, and the account manager and coordinator for rural banks – were present to facilitate the presentation and hands-on activities. Twenty (20) participants from 11 rural banks completed the training.

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The Asia Foundation – A rapidly increasing number of people across the globe are now staying connected to one another via a mobile phone device – whether it’s an iPhone, Nokia, or Samsung. In fact, the United Nations reported earlier this year that the worldwide figure for cell phone subscriptions had topped five billion at the end of 2010. According to the International Telecommunication Union, approximately 3.8 billion of these mobile subscriptions were from developing countries – with India and China fueling this upsurge.

As this trend continues, the mobile financial services market is also booming, and is increasingly dominated by Asia, driven by mobile, operator-led initiatives in these developing nations to “bank the unbanked.” Developing countries such as Pakistan are among those that have made remarkable progress in global mobile phone adoption; in 2007, while just one million Pakistanis owned bank accounts, 70 million were mobile subscribers. In April 2011, this total subscriber figure stood at 108 million. This rapid mobile subscription rise has the potential for even greater expansion among those living in the developing world with the enablement of these four mobile banking functions: government cash transfers, international remittances, bill payments, and savings.

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Fourteen representatives from eight rural banks based in the Visayas and Mindanao attended the Mobile Phone Banking Accreditation training and refresher course at the Diamond Suites in Cebu City last September 9. The training was organized by the United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program and co-sponsored by G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary and the mobile commerce arm of Globe Telecom.

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The United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program joined mobile financial service stakeholders at the 5th Annual Mobile Financial Services – Asia Pacific Summit held at the Waterfront, Singapore on September 6-7, 2011. The annual conference gathers partners in mobile, banking, business and technology industries to build a robust and sustainable mobile commerce ecosystem.

Industry trends and challenges in the mobile financial services were discussed during the two-day summit. The impact of the near field communication (NFC) technology and smartphones were the highlights of the summit. Banks in countries including Singapore, Japan and Korea are now utilizing the power of smartphones in providing mobile financial services to their clients. The socio-economic impact and success of this innovation in the financial services space were recognized.

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The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines–Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program (RBAP-MABS) in cooperation with Globe’s G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) conducted a regional GCASH accreditation training and refresher course on August 25, 2011 at the RBAP Conference Room in Intramuros, Manila. Thirty-three (33) participants from eighteen (18) rural banks from Luzon completed the course.

The training introduced the participants to the basic concepts and applications of mobile phone banking as an additional rural bank service. Ms. Letty Young of Globe Telecommunications discussed the fundamentals of GCASH and engaged the participants with hands on exercises: registration to GCASH, person-to-person (P2P) electronic money transfer and balance inquiry. Other topics essential to the successful implementation of mobile phone banking services (MPBS) were also discussed; such as developing a contingency plan and security and internal control measures.

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A delegation from China visited the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program on 22 August 2011 to learn about microfinance and mobile banking. RBAP-MABS welcomed the group with a multimedia presentation on the topics, including a live demonstration of the workings of mobile phone banking.

Organized and coordinated by the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE), the group was composed of representatives from Fuping Development Institute, China Association of Microfinance, CreditEase Group, Baoshang Bank and China Development Bank.

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Officers of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were given a firsthand briefing on the mobile phone banking initiative of the USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program during a visit with partner bank, PR Savings Bank’s Ortigas Branch on August 11, 2011. The officers included Science & Technology Adviser to the Administrator Alex Dehgan, Environment Officer Kerry Reeves, Teresa Leonardo, Global Climate Change Advisor, and Contracts Officer Technical Representative Teresita Espenilla.

The team was provided with a presentation outlining the Program’s mobile phone banking initiative. As of May 2011, there are some 71 accredited rural banks with over 1,100 branches and other banking offices that are registered to offer mobile phone banking services utilizing the GCASH platform. These banks have served over 256,000 mobile phone banking clients and customers and have processed more than PhP 12 billion ($ 250 million) in mobile phone banking transactions via GCASH.

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Four Rural Banks president share their views and visions on mobile banking and mobile money using the Globe GCASH platform in the Philippines.

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More than a thousand people waited in line to receive their second cash payment from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Tabogon, Cebu last July 26, 2011. Green Bank, a participating bank of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program, assisted the release of PhP 1.2 million pesos (US$30,000) financial assistance through GCASH Remit.

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The officers and staff of 1st Valley Bank Zamboanga Del Norte branch welcomed officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) composed of Director Andrew Plitt (ASIA/Special Project Office), Myra Stokes and Teresita Espenilla of USAID/Philippines on July 20, 2011. On hand to provide the briefing on the USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program was Regional Manager for Mindanao Anthony Petalcorin, while 1st Valley Bank officer Ms. Emily Enad, 1st Valley Bank Vice-President for Risk Management provided the guests a look at how the bank is implementing the different initiatives under the RBAP-MABS program, especially with regard to mobile phone banking.

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The USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program in coordination with RBAP International Study Visit Program once again organized a study tour on Mobile Phone Banking for UTIBA, the supplier of Globe’s GCASH platform and representatives from Digitel Venezuela and Grupo Mas, Coca Cola, and DIPOR from Ecuador. Apart from visiting RBAP, the group also visited G-Xchange Inc (GXI), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and GM Bank from July 18-20, 2011.

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The Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) in coordination with Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) on its International Study Visit Program once again conducted a lecture on Mobile Phone Banking (MPB) with its partners from different parts of the globe. Participants last July 13-14, 2011 were from Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) as well as representatives from People’s Bank and Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

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To support Rang-ay Bank’s plan to expand its microfinance services, the USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program provided the senior officers of the bank with briefings on different program initiatives that are aligned to the interests of Rang-ay Bank on August 6, 2011. Aside from the briefing, MABS helped the bank come up with microfinance services expansion strategy and provided the bank with an updated assessment of its mobile phone banking (MPB) services initiative.

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Alternative ways of delivering banking services are changing the way rural banks are servicing their clients. Not only that, these innovations are also helping the Philippine Government reach families at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

During the 2011 RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference, rural banks shared how technology has been useful to them in expanding microfinance services. As of May 2011, more than 160,000 rural bank clients have processed more than PhP10 billion (US$220 million) in mobile phone banking transactions via the GCASH platform.

Banking practices have been evolving and expanding coverage geographically, as well as in terms of network, client base, and products and services being offered to clients. Mobile phone banking services were first introduced to rural banks through an effort promoted by the RBAP-MABS program back in 2004.

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Located in Cagayan about 242 miles away from Manila, the Rural Bank of Gattaran serves over 50,000 clients in Northeastern Luzon. With the strategic location of its branches including one near a famous tourist spot, Sta. Ana, the bank sees the potential for mobile phone banking services in its areas of operation.

The bank’s current remittance facility is servicing up to 40 transactions daily, totalling P5,000 – P500,000 ($116-$11,630) for each of the bank’s three branches.

To support the bank in its commitment to improve its operations, the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program evaluated the current banking software deployed in RB Gattaran’s three branches during its visit on June 23-24. The RBAP-MABS review team gave recommendations to improve the bank’s monitoring system and assisted the bank in planning for enhancements.

RB Gattaran became a MABS participating bank in 2006 and has since then provided micro loans to over 5,000 clients totalling more than PhP 341,000,000 ($7.9M).

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A well-known member of the Congress of Guatemala, Ms. Roxana Baldetti, visited the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) on June 17, 2011 to better understand how the mobile phone banking initiative through the rural banks has worked out in the Philippines, particularly in reaching out to more remote areas..

Guatemala is a country with a population of about 13.8 million – over 75 percent of which live below the poverty line. Poverty is even more severe among the rural and indigenous populations. (Source: Encyclopedia of the Nations)

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Seventeen (17) delegates from the Bank of Mongolia, the Finance Regulatory Board of Mongolia, the Information, Communications Technology, and Post Authority, along with other Mongolia government officials participated in the RBAP International Visits Program on May 16-20. This was to learn first-hand about the uses of mobile money and mobile phone banking in the Philippines.

Mr. John Owens, Chief of Party of the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program, introduced the delegates to the uses of mobile money and mobile phone banking practiced by Philippine rural banks. He also shared the latest updates in the Philippine rural banking industry, as well as how mobile money and mobile phone banking are helping in the expansion of banking services to reach far-flung areas in the country. He shared how this approach and other principles practiced in the Philippines can be also applied in Mongolia. He also discussed how the Philippines’ excellent regulatory system has helped in the success of mobile phone banking.

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By Meliza H. Agabin, RBAP-MABS Deputy Chief of Party

Rural banks like Green Bank and mobile money transfer help facilitate cash grants directly to thousands of poor families.

In a scene being played out in various places in the country, some of them more remote, over 400 households from four barangays in the municipality of Sogod, Cebu received financial support from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) on May 4, 2011.A 5-year program of the Philippine Government, 4Ps provides conditional cash grants for the poorest families in identified municipalities as financial aid for the family’s health and for children’s education. Aside from disbursements through the Land Bank of the Philippines, conditional cash transfers (CCT) are being disbursed too with the involvement of mobile money remittance channels such as rural banks and their mobile phone banking facility.

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This was one of the questions asked at the focus group discussion (FGD) conducted recently in a small town of Laur in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The participants were borrowers of the local rural bank, GM Bank, based in Cabanatuan City. The session was held to road test the financial education materials developed with assistance from the Microfinance Opportunities (MFO), partner of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP).

RBAP, through its USAID-supported Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program, is receiving support from MFO as part of a joint project established between the latter and The MasterCard Foundation. The project is to support the adoption and sustained use of mobile phone banking (m-banking) services via increased financial education for clients of rural banks.

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Manila Times – A partnership between telecom firms and rural banks in providing financial services to more Filipinos is expected to reach new heights with the development of newer technologies and acceptance of mobile banking in the countryside becoming more prevalent.

Many expect mobile money transfers (MMT) to boom over the next three years as the cost and ability to send money and pay for basic goods and services are cheaper and more efficient than the traditional modes. Globe Telecom subsidiary G-Xchange and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) are now working together to expand mobile banking services and provide a wider array of financial services. RBAP is also working with Smart Communications to enable MMT via the Smart Money platform and eventually mobile phone banking services for Smart subscribers as well.

While MMT is a very useful service for remittances and payments, the real potential comes from combining these platforms with a bank to offer real mobile phone banking services that make it easier for people to save, borrow, repay their loans, pay bills, facilitate rural payroll, or send or receive remittances. With more than 2,700 branches and other banking offices and more than five million clients, the rural banks are in the best position to provide the largest bank network partnership in the countryside.

With the service, cell phone owners can remit and donate money, receive and make loan payments, pay salaries, commissions and bills through a text message. It is now estimated that there are more than 70 million individual mobile phone subscribers in the Philippines and more than half of them do not have bank accounts. This is the large untapped market that rural banks are now focusing on in partnership with GXI and, in the near future, with Smart.

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