Rural Banks Prepare for Pricing Transparency

Ms. Laila DelesIn preparation for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) regulation on effective interest rate calculations, Ms. Leila Deles of Microfinance Transparency (MFT) showed how this regulation impacts on how interest rates are disclosed to clients and the profitability of microloans.

Ms. Deles set the context of the session by emphasizing that pricing transparency refers to the terms and the condition where financial products are disclosed to clients in a manner that allows both accurate understanding of prices and comparison of different products. She also provided information on the promotion of transparency, data collection, standardization of pricing calculations, and development of educational materials to support this initiative. More importantly, MFT consulted with regulators and policy makers to establish the basis for pricing in the microfinance sector.

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RBAP-MABS Microfinance and Mobile Phone Banking Initiatives Showcased in International Study Visit

The USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program shared the history of rural banking in the Philippines as well as microfinance best practices and various mobile phone banking services currently used by rural banks to representatives from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka on December 14.

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More Rural Banks Complete Microinsurance Training Course

Participants answer the Qualifying Exam held during the December 7 training in ManilaEighteen rural banks based in Luzon and Mindanao recently completed the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) Basic Microinsurance Training during two separate sessions. Twenty-nine (29) bank officers and staff from ten (10) rural bank-members of the Cagayan-Kalinga Federation attended the training held in Cooperative Bank, Tuguegarao City, on November 24-25 while eleven (11) bank officers and staff from eight (8) rural banks participated in the course held on December 7-8 in Manila. Altogether, one hundred and sixty (160) rural banks have been trained under the RBAP Basic Microinsurance Training course since January 2011.

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RBAP-MABS Outlines Financial Education for Branchless Banking During the 8th Citi-Financial Times Financial Education Summit

Shirley-PitalgoThe 8th Citi-Financial Times (FT) Financial Education Summit, the most established annual international forum on financial literacy, was held on November 28-29, 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. With the theme “Empowering the Disadvantaged: Inclusive and Innovative Approaches to Financial Capability”, the Summit focused on how to increase the uptake of financial education initiatives at grassroots levels – microentrepreneurs, migrant workers, and low-income youth – and also explored the use of technology and media in scaling programs and reducing the cost of delivery.  The roles of national frameworks and multi-stakeholder partnerships in addressing large-scale financial capability and consumer protection needs were also addressed.

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Rural Banks Providing Financial Education in Branchless Banking

By Cheryl Lualhati Balingit, RBAP-MABS Special Projects Coordinator

In Filipino grammar, adding the prefix mag is a nifty way to verbalize a noun. This extends from everyday, colloquial conversation Mag-kape tayo (Let’s have coffee) Mag-sine tayo (Let’s watch a movie) to more profound exhortations, like Mag-bago na tayo. (It’s time we make a change). The United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program with assistance from Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) is now assisting rural banks to extend this further to promote mobile phone banking services with the launch of mag-CellBank! and the pilot testing of the Financial Education for Branchless Banking Project.

mag-CellBank!, the new logo for mobile phone banking services, employs the prefix mag to cell (for cellphone) and bank. Mag-CellBank! is an enthusiastic call for clients to perform banking transactions using their cellphones. The new name, along with a visual identity, is integrated into the new Financial Education for Branchless Banking toolkit that is currently being used by three pilot banks – GM Bank, Cantilan Bank, and 1st Valley Bank. mag-CellBank! services include Text-A-Payment (TAP), Text-A-Deposit (TAD), Text-A-Withdrawal (TAW), and phone-to-phone transfers and payments.

mag-cellbank!Launched in June 2010, the Financial Education for Branchless Banking Project is implemented by the RBAP-MABS Program with support from MFO, a Washington-based global nonprofit that develops consumer-focused ideas and solutions for the microfinance industry. The project, which is implemented in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, aims to increase the uptake and use of mobile phone banking services through the use of financial education tools.

The dissemination and use of the toolkit rounds up close to a year of work and preparation.

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