Tag: GXI

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Rural Banks Trained on GCASH-Enabled Mobile Phone Banking Services

The United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program conducted two separate GCASH accreditation trainings for rural banks from the Bicol Federation and National Capital Region (NCR) on May 10 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Naga City and May 29 at the RBAP Conference Room in Manila.

Five (5) participants from four (4) Bicol Federation banks – Rural Bank of San Jose (Camarines Sur), Bangko Rural ng Magarao, Rural Bank of San Fernando (Camarines Sur) and Rural Bank of Pasacao – attended the training while seven (7) participants from four (4) banks – Bangko Nuestra Senora, Banco Alabang, Country Rural Bank of Taguig and Rural Bank of Karamotan – joined the training for NCR banks.

The training is part of the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS Program’s initiative to assist rural banks by providing a range of solutions that …

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The Future of Mobile Phone Banking in the Philippines: Global Trends for Rural Bankers to Consider (Part 3 of 3)

During my presentation, I shared with the audience some of the latest relevant updates and trends that we are seeing from around the world in terms of the uses of mobile money and mobile banking services.

Viral Marketing & Use of Social Networks

One interesting theme is the use of viral marketing to support the expanded use of mobile money and mobile banking services by focusing on key influencers in particular markets. I wrote about this a few years ago in an article entitled Creating a Tipping Point for Mobile Phone-based Financial Services. In this article, I talked about the factors needed to reach a critical mass of clients with mobile banking services.

As I mentioned in my paper, Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, describes three agents of change that create tipping points in the spread of …

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In the NewsLatest UpdatesMABS Tips

Mobile Phone Banking and New Technologies: Providing New Channels to Serve Clients Better, Faster, and 24/7

Alternative ways of delivering banking services are changing the way rural banks are servicing their clients. Not only that, these innovations are also helping the Philippine Government reach families at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

During the 2011 RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference, rural banks shared how technology has been useful to them in expanding microfinance services.  As of May 2011, more than 160,000 rural bank clients have processed more than PhP10 billion (US$220 million) in mobile phone banking transactions via the GCASH platform.

Banking practices have been evolving and expanding coverage geographically, as well as in terms of network, client base, and products and services being offered to clients.  Mobile phone banking services were first introduced to rural banks through an effort promoted by the RBAP-MABS program back in 2004.

From left: Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III (Ret.) of Cantilan Bank, Ms. Ma. Cecilia Tanael of the Rural Bank of Mabitac, and Ms. Cynthia Rudinas of First Valley Bank

From left: Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III (Ret.) of Cantilan Bank, Ms. Ma. Cecilia Tanael of the Rural Bank

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MABS FeaturesMABS Highlights

Conditional Cash Transfer, Rural Banks, and Mobile Money Transfer: Observations and Reflections

In a scene being played out in various places in the country, some of them more remote, over 400 households from four barangays in the municipality of Sogod, Cebu received financial support from the government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) on May 4, 2011.A 5-year program of the Philippine Government, 4Ps provides conditional cash grants for the poorest families in identified municipalities as financial aid for the family’s health and for children’s education. Aside from disbursements through the Land Bank of the Philippines, conditional cash transfers (CCT) are being disbursed too with the involvement of mobile money remittance channels such as rural banks and their mobile phone banking facility.

On May 4, I witnessed the day-long process of how atotal of PhP562,700 ($13,070) was disbursed to 414 beneficiaries composed mainly of women.It was the second cash grant for this group of …

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MABS Features

Mobile money wallets help microentrepreneurs in the Philippines

Microentrepreneurs in a Filipino market are saving time and money by accepting payments using their mobile phones.

Turning sideways to squeeze between the tightly packed stalls, customers stop to admire strings of white, pink, and green pearls displayed by Jamera Macmac and her family. The family runs a pearl business in the bustling Greenhills Shopping Center in Manila, Philippines, where customers seek out their unique designs. After years of managing the business, Ms. Macmac wanted to look for new ways to sell her products. She also grew tired of frequent trips to the bank to deposit cash or send money to family in Mindanao.
The innovative solution was for Ms. Macmac’s customers to pay her using mobile money. This is possible due to the collaboration between USAID’s Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Filipino Mobile Money Issuer G-Xchange Inc. (GXI).  
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In the NewsLatest UpdatesPress Releases

Bangko Mabuhay and GCASH serve the mobile money community of Cavite

Bangko Mabuhay together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, brings the benefits of mobile money and convenient remittance pay-out options in Cavite.

Using the GCASH platform, its branches serve as cash-in and cash-out facilities for customers who would like to take advantage of the convenience that mobile money transfer offers. Bangko Mabuhay is also an active pay-out outlet for GCASH REMIT, cash pick-up remittance service under GXI.

Bangko Mabuhay, registered as Rural Bank of Tanza (Cavite), Inc., has over P900M in assets serving thousands of clients in the province.…

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MABS FeaturesSuccess Stories

Mobile phone banking merchant partners help ease banking in Surigao

A growing number of store owners are collaborating with rural banks and connecting to the GCASH network from Cantilan to Butuan City and across the region. These store owners are providing cash-in and cash-out services to support mobile phone banking services as well as mobile money transfer in these areas.

The partnership between RBAP-MABS and G-XChange, Inc. (GXI), Globe Telecom’s wholly owned subsidiary, has helped develop and implement mobile phone banking applications and m-commerce services for rural banks and their clients.  Based on a secure GCASH menu, mobile phone banking clients of accredited rural banks can receive loans, make payments and deposits, withdraw funds from their deposit accounts, receive money from relatives and friends, and even buy and sell goods remotely via GCASH.

Merchant-partners provide the opportunity for rural bank clients to conveniently deposit cash into or withdraw cash from their mobile wallets.  While rural banks in turn help to …

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Latest UpdatesMABS Highlights

GCASH and Guagua Rural Bank Formalize Partnership

Guagua Rural Bank (GR Bank) officially joins the Philippine mobile phone banking community as it formalized its partnership with G-Xchange Inc. in utilizing the GCASH platform to facilitate its mobile phone banking services (MPBS).

Developed under the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program, MPBS involves the use of mobile phones in performing bank transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, remittances and loan payments, among others.

Facilitated by the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program, GR Bank signed a memorandum of agreement with G-XChange, Inc., Globe Telecom’s mobile commerce subsidiary, on February 18 during the Central Luzon Federation of Rural Bank Management Conference in Hotel Stotsenberg, Clarkfield, Angeles City, Pampanga

With this partnership, GR Bank will utilize GCASH to expand its banking operations. Initially, the bank will accommodate cash-in and cash-out and GCASH Remit services.  With these new services available to its banking clients, GR Bank can now further …

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MABS Features

RBAP plans for big time mobile phone banking services expansion this 2010

The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) projects a substantial increase in mobile phone banking services this year as G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI) plans to activate Globe Telecom’s nationwide sub distributer network of over 18,000 cash-in and cash-out outlets.

Combined with the mobile phone banking services developed by USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program, this will provide the rural banks with a virtual ATM network that more than doubles the current count of about 8,000.  “We see this as an opportunity to leapfrog the rural banking sector’s outreach in the countryside and we are gearing up to accomplish this in 2010,” said RBAP President Joseph Omar Andaya.  

RBAP also has an application pending with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to utilize its own closed-loop merchant network. This network will provide cash-in and cash-out locations for RBAP banks’ clients in areas that the sub distributor network does not reach. “We are confident that we …

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