RCBC ties up with Bayad Center for remittances

MANILA, Philippines - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is beefing up its remittance business through a partnership with the pioneer and leader in the outsourced payment collection industry in the country.

RCBC has formalized its partnership with Bayad Center – a unit of electricity giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) – to provide a new distribution channel for overseas Filipino workers.

RCBC chair Helen Yuchengco-Dee and RCBC first senior vice president Emmanuel Narciso signed the agreement with Bayad Center president and chief executive officer Manuel Tuason as well as Bayad Center senior vice president and chief operating officer Francispito Quevedo.

RCBC’s Global Transaction Banking Group (GTBG) under which operates the bank’s OFW remittance handling segment RCBC Telemoney, facilitated the new service agreement to allow the beneficiaries of its Telemoney clients to claim remittances from any Bayad Center branch nationwide.

Narciso, who also heads RCBC’s GTBG, cited Bayad Center’s extensive nationwide reach, dedicated helpdesk and flexible operating hours as among the important factors that would help enhance RCBC’s remittance distribution and payout network.

“Being within reach of the beneficiaries of Filipinos working abroad requires as broad a presence as possible on the ground locally, notwithstanding the size of our branch footprint,” Narciso said.

“Working together we will create more pathways for financial support from Filipinos abroad to reach their loved ones, which also fuels our accelerating economy and benefits the entire nation,” he added.

RCBC has set its sights on growing its local strategic partnerships to enhance its remittance handling services and continually capture a significant market share of the remittance business from OFWs.

For his part, Tuason said the latest partnership with RCBC is in line with its goal of transforming itself from a bills payment facility into a service fulfillment center.

“Our latest venture with RCBC Telemoney is an extension of our existing relationship with RCBC that already covers credit card payment, loading of RCBC’s MyWallet cards, and other services,” Tuason said.

RCBC’s biggest remittance inflows come from the Middle East, followed by Europe, Asia and America.

“We look forward to forging more synergies with RCBC and being at one with you in serving our fellow Filipinos nationwide and overseas.”

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sees remittances growing four percent this year due to the steady deployment of Filipino workers, greater diversification of country destinations, and shift to higher-skilled types of work.

Remittances from more than 10 million Filipinos working abroad account for 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. This helps boost private consumption resulting in faster economic growth.