RCBC's mass market app books exponential 69,526% growth rate

Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), with its flagship mass-market financial inclusion app DiskarTech, has reached a five-digit exponential organic growth in partner deposits by the end of October versus the same period last year. 

 

DiskarTech’s partner deposits recorded a 69,526-percent and 12,765 percent surge in transaction value and volume, respectively with close to 3 billion pesos in cash-in value. These cash-in and deposit transactions are being done in over 45,000 touchpoints nationwide that includes 7-Eleven, Bayad Center, Ayanah, rural banks, pawnshops, drugstores, and money service business, among others. 

InstaPay outgoing registered a growth of 2,340 percent and 25,526 percent in transaction volume and value, respectively, while InstaPay incoming booked 790 percent and 2,521 percent, respectively. Bills payment transactions also made a big jump to 2,978 percent and 3,892 percent in volume and value, respectively.

“Partly catalyzed by the pandemic and the limited branch-based transactions, many turned to our partner merchants such as convenience stores, pawnshops and drugstores to cash in using their DiskarTech app. This five-digit growth in DiskarTech’s partner deposit transactions is a strong indication that more and more Filipinos are embracing the digital-first imperative and the value of savings,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer.  

 

As of end-October, DiskarTech has also booked a gross transaction value in excess of P14.9 billion. 

 

To date, RCBC’s DiskarTech continues to enjoy a month-on-month growth in both transaction volume and value, booking a 25-percent and a 48-percent increase, respectively.

 

DiskarTech has active users in all 81 provinces in the Philippineswith 9 out of 10 top users outside Metro Manila. In 15 months, it now recorded close to five million app downloads with 62 percent female users and 79 percent of active users belonging to the millennial and Gen Z market cluster. 

 

“The sustained growth of transactions using the DiskarTech app reveals to us how our digital finance solutions help in bridging the so-called digital divide. RCBC continues its commitment in providing efficient, convenient and interoperable embedded finance solutions through its digital products for the benefit of more Filipinos,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo added.

 

Recently, DiskarTech was the first app in the country to introduce any one of 18 IDs for account onboarding allowing more Filipinos from the countryside to easily and quickly create an interest-bearing DiskarTech savings account.

RCBC’s DiskarTech pioneers acceptance of 18 IDs for easier bank account opening

Remaining committed to remove barriers for wider financial inclusion in the country, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) mass-market super app DiskarTech recently launched its new streamlined onboarding process and expanded the number of acceptable IDs for faster account verification.

 

From an original set of seven acceptable IDs required for the app’s digital savings account creation through electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process, DiskarTech will now accept a total of 18 IDs. This aims to facilitate a more convenient account registration and verification on the part of its users. 

 

Acceptable IDs for eKYC now include the following: Passport, Driver's License, Unified Multipurpose ID (UMID), Social Security System (SSS) ID, Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID, Firearms License, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance.

DiskarTech will also honor the following IDs for a semi-verified account: School ID, Government Services and Insurance System (GSIS) e-card, Senior Citizen Card, PhilHealth Card, and Company or Government Office-issued IDs.

 

Soon, DiskarTech will also start to accept the following IDs: Postal ID (issued 2016 onwards), PWD ID Card, Seaman's Book, and the PhilSys National ID.

 

“DiskarTech’s expansion of acceptable IDs for account onboarding is a first of its kind for any digitized legacy bank or any digital banking providers in the country. Our goal is to make access to financial services more seamless and inclusive,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer.

 

“Digitalization and financial inclusion are the foundations of the “New Economy”, BangkoSentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said, citing their benefits to more Filipinos.

 

Apart from the expansion of acceptable IDs, RCBC’s DiskarTech also streamlined its onboarding process with a few clicks. Now, prospective users may immediately verify their DiskarTech accounts upon registration, omitting the extra step of asking registrants on whether they want to proceed to account verification or not. The user may also continue the verification process at a later time if they are unable to complete the steps required, or if they do not have the needed ID or information on hand. Users can simply log back into the app to continue their account verification.

 

In the new streamlined onboarding process, the user is created a restricted and semi-verified DiskarTech Basic Deposit Account (BDA) after the initial verification. In creating the DiskarTech account, users are not required to have an initial deposit, no maintaining balance, and no dormancy fees with just one among the 18 acceptable IDs. With a restricted DiskarTech BDA, a user will be able to start using some of the features of the app such as deposits and transfers from other banks (maximum of Php5,000 balance), e-load and e-pin purchase, bills payment, and telemedicine purchase.

 

In less than 24 hours, the user will be further verified by DiskarTech.  Once approved, users who submitted a secondary ID will be able to continue the use of their restricted account, while users who submitted a primary ID will have a full DiskarTech BDA which can access all of the App's features, including a balance of up to Php48,000 that will earn an interest of 3.25 percent annually. Users with restricted accounts must upgrade to a full account by submitting a primary ID within 12 months.

 

 “We believe that this new process will encourage more Filipinos to open their first transactional accounts through DiskarTech,” Villanueva added.