Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) inked a collaboration with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to digitalize cooperatives nationwide through a memorandum of understanding as the world celebrated the International Cooperative Day held at Novotel Manila in Cubao, Quezon City on Saturday, July 2, 2022.
The partnership dubbed ‘Madiskarteng Pilipino, Madiskarteng Kilusang Kooperatibismo’ aims to support cooperative members through digital financial inclusion and educate them on personal finance management, savings, insurance, payments, investments, and the use of digital finance apps and platforms like DiskarTech and ATM Go.
This is part of RCBC’s overarching goal of making finance inclusive and accessible to all Filipinos especially the unbanked and underserved segment.
“Cooperatives play a key role in poverty reduction and economic development. These small to medium-scale organizations help community members to access financial capital for businesses,” said Eugene S. Acevedo, RCBC president and CEO.
“This agreement will help cooperative members have easier access to financial institutions like banks and improve their capacity for finance management through the use of digital finance applications.
This is a testament to RCBC’s more than 60 years of commitment to delivering financial services that benefit not only our clients but ultimately, the society-at-large,” Acevedo added.
“The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the CDA and RCBC fortifies this whole-of-nation approach for the twin goals of financial inclusion and digital acceleration,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer.
“We hope that through the inclusive digital solutions that RCBC offers, particularly DiskarTech and ATM Go, we can contribute significantly to the digital transformation of our cooperatives. With the right platforms, we believe that our cooperatives can also empower their members and the local communities they serve to become digitally and financially literate,” Villanueva added.
Chairman and Undersecretary Joseph B. Encabo signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the CDA.
The ‘Madiskarteng Pilipino, Madiskarteng Kilusang Kooperatibismo’ is an addition to the roster of RCBC and DiskarTech’s partnerships with key sectors with the goal of strengthening financial inclusion in the country.
DiskarTech and the Department of Education recently launched the ‘Aralin sa Madiskarteng Pananalapi’ module through DepEd Memorandum No. 053, s. 2022.
All of these undertakings are geared towards supporting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. (Dennis Abrina)
