RCBC credit cards now made from recycled PVC

MANILA, Philippines — Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has phased out single-use plastics and shifted to recycled polyvinyl chloride plastic (rPVC) in producing its credit cards as part of its efforts to lessen carbon emissions and promote sustainability.

The bank said since it started its transition in 2023, more than 60 percent of all new and replaced credit cards are now mostly made of recycled plastics. RCBC is targeting to increase the figure in the coming years.

“As a bank, we are committed to ensuring we have a sustainable future. Our shift to the use of recycled plastics for credit card products is one among many steps we are taking towards this goal,” RCBC Credit Cards president and CEO Arniel Vincent Ong said in a statement.

The bank would use at least 2,250 kilograms of recycled plastics for credit cards every year once it has fully transitioned. This is equal to the weight of up to two sedan vehicles.

“Each RCBC credit card made out of rPVC issued bears the recycled logo, signifying RCBC’s promotion of a sustainable value chain,” the bank also said.

The shift followed the bank’s launch of the Zalora credit card in 2021. It was made from bio-sourced polylactic acid from non-edible corn and marked the first credit card product to use sustainable materials in the country.

The bank has also started a campaign to switch its credit card statements digitally, with over 96 percent of all accounts today enrolled in email statements.

RCBC saw its net income grow by 1.1 percent to hit a record P12.22 billion in 2023, fueled by faster-than-industry loan and deposit growth.

Customer loans went up by 15 percent to P622 billion, outpacing the industry average, driven by the solid 29-percent jump in the consumer segment amid robust credit card and housing loans.

On the asset quality side, tighter credit policies and prudent remedial management kept the bank’s gross non-performing loan ratio low at 3.34 percent in 2023, an improvement from 3.75 percent in 2022.

Furthermore, the bank’s deposit base reached P957 billion as current and savings account deposits surged by 19 percent, outpacing the industry’s three percent increase.

With total assets of over P1.2 trillion, RCBC solidified its position as the fifth largest private bank in the country.

As of end-2023, RCBC had a network of 458 branches, 1,460 ATMs and 5,779 ATM Go terminals strategically located nationwide.