Bayad Center strengthens partnership with RCBC

MANILA, Philippines — CIS Bayad Center Inc. has strengthened its partnership with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) to deploy more ATM Go terminals to provide basic banking services, including cash withdrawal, fund transfer, and balance inquiry to BancNet cardholders.

Lawrence Ferrer, president and chief executive officer of Bayad Center, said the synergized network and technology allow both companies to reach out to more Filipinos and enable them to make financial transactions with increased ease and efficiency.

This includes the distribution of the cash aid extended by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) coursed through RCBC’s mobile app DiskarTech.

”As one of RCBC’s partners for its DiskarTech Lite Disbursement Platform, Bayad Center also contributed to the payout service of DSWD’s second tranche of emergency cash aid,” Ferrer said.

As the most trusted payment authority in the country, Bayad Center now has 40,000 payment touchpoints nationwide and handles more than 10 million transactions every month.

Bayad Center has been growing its portfolio of services, which now goes beyond payments and include domestic and international remittance, insurance sales, medical reimbursement, airline ticketing, ATM cash withdrawal, loan disbursement, airtime loading and more.

RCBC executive vice president and chief financial inclusion and innovation officer Lito Villanueva said the banks handheld ATM facility, which allows basic banking services, would soon be a standard service in Bayad Center branches soon.

“We are pleased that ATM Go is being utilized as an alternative platform for government aid in various areas. In this time of crisis, delivering meaningful financial transactions are critical in easing the burden of many Filipinos. RCBC continues to create banking innovations that can help surmount the challenges of quarantine restrictions and health risks,” Villanueva said.

Recognizing the rising need for more convenient financial transactions amid the   pandemic, the partners are expediting the set-up of 300 ATM Go terminals by the end of the year.

Currently, ATM Go services are available in select Bayad Center branches in Metro Manila, Abra, Albay, Antique, Aurora, Bataan, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Cagayan, Cavite, Cebu, Davao Del Sur, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, La Union, Laguna, Lanao Del Norte, Leyte, Mountain Province, Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Quezon, Rizal, South Cotabato, Tarlac, Western Samar, and Zamboanga Del Sur.

Since the rollout of the joint service,  it has benefitted numerous customers especially those living in remote locations with limited access to physical or digital financial platforms.

In the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Cavite for example, the ATM Go has been a widely used payout platform for the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Endorsed by the DSWD in April, ATM Go is also utilized by the agency for the offsite payment facilitation of the conditional cash transfer program and pension for indigent senior citizens.