China Banking launches financial-inclusion bid
MAKATI City-based CBS China Bank Savings, the retail banking arm of China Banking Corp., and a member of the SMIC Group, recently launched an initiative that aims to boost financial inclusion and encourage the majority of Filipinos to shift to a cash-lite economy.
“In a country with 70-percent smartphone penetration, the harsh reality is that the majority of Filipinos are still without bank accounts,” CBS Digital Business Banking Group head Adonis C. Yap said. The initiative called “CBS GO” is a mobile app that Yap said “will make it easy and affordable” for non-cbs customers, especially entry-level depositors, to open their first savings account with CBS.
The app launched last Monday is part of the lender’s program to build “branch lites” or small branches in the countryside that was launched in late 2021 to reach more of the country’s underbanked and unbanked population. Latest figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that 53 percent of adult Filipinos or 41 million citizens have yet to open an account.
“The results in 2022 were inspiring,” said CBS Chief Marketing Officer Josephine F. Fernandez. “Our ‘Build & Rise’ program proved that we could cover more ground. Today, CBS has made it possible to open a savings account right where one is, right on your device.”
As a pioneer in the country’s thrift banks, Yap said the lender supports the “Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap” of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The BSP expects the roadmap to raise the number of Filipino adults with bank accounts to 70 percent and shift 50 percent of total retail payments to electronic channels by 2023.
Branch on phone
YAP said the lender developed the app “to bridge the gap for financial services, especially in the countryside.”
This makes CBS China Bank Savings one of the few Philippine thrift banks with a digital on boarding app, he said adding that the lender is committed to supporting BSP’S thrust to develop a cash-lite/digital economy.
The app makes it quick and easy for the majority of Filipinos to open a deposit account and transition to digital transactions anytime, wherever they might be in the Philippines, according to Yap.
“CBS GO brings the branch directly to your smartphone,” he said. “You don’t have to be techie to get a CBS Go account. All you need is a smartphone and a data connection. No lines, no forms, no fees. One valid ID and just a selfie will enable you to create an account and verify, and you’re set to go.”
According to Yap, the app would allow entry-level depositors to gain real-time control over their finances, allow them to instantaneously receive and transfer funds to other banks via Instapay, as well as manage everyday financial tasks such as retail purchases, paying for utilities, loading e-wallets, and topping-up pre-paid mobile phone credits.