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Catherine Talavera - The Philippine Star
February 19, 2025 | 12:00am
In a statement, RCBC said it posted a 46-percent increase in ATM Go terminals in 2024.
Businessworld / File
MANILA, Philippines — Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) reported a 145-percent jump in its ATM Go partner merchants last year, driven by its ability to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in local communities.
In a statement, RCBC said it posted a 46-percent increase in ATM Go terminals in 2024.
ATM Go is RCBC’s grassroots- oriented and bank-agnostic mobile-powered ATM terminal.
“ATM Go’s standout feature is its ability to bring banking services to local communities while providing partner merchants an additional revenue stream,” the bank said.
RCBC ATM Go currently operates nearly 8,100 terminals across all 82 provinces in the country, with a predominantly rural customer base of which 66 percent are women.
The listed bank added that a quarter of its more than 4,000 partner merchants rely on Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet to extend financial services to remote areas.
“By bringing banking services closer to the people, these entrepreneurs have turned financial challenges into opportunities for growth, proving that innovation and determination can drive real change,” RCBC said.
As its ATM Go expands, the bank said more MSMEs would gain the tools they need to thrive, innovate, and strengthen rural economies.
“What was once a dream of accessible banking in the countryside is now a growing reality – one transaction, one ATM Go merchant, and one empowered community at a time,” RCBC said.
Aside from MSMEs, RCBC said its ATM Go terminals help bring financial services to far-flung areas especially in Mindanao without banks.
Citing data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), RCBC said 213 municipalities in Mindanao remain without a bank as of September 2024, with more than half located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
With the lack of banks, some residents in far-flung areas or islands need to spend a significant amount of money to travel to mainland areas to be able to withdraw money.
RCBC said its ATM GO addresses this issue highlighting that teachers, military personnel and government aid beneficiaries in these areas no longer had to spend thousands just to withdraw money.
It added that even the 4Ps beneficiaries, 65 percent of ATM Go users, now have a more accessible and cost-effective way to receive their welfare payouts.
