BancNet defies odds, turns challenges into opportunities
“We have turned the challenges we faced in 2021 into opportunities that put us in a superior position as we prepare for the gradual exit from the pandemic and consequent recovery of the economy, increased consumption and higher demand for services.” FABIAN DEE BancNet President
Leading electronic payments network BancNet continues to move forward to the potentials and possibilities of 2022 and beyond after turning challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. BancNet Chairman Nestor Tan of BDO Unibank Inc. and BancNet President Fabian Dee of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) said the non-stop payment network defied even bigger odds last year as the global health crisis continued to rage and protracted mobility constraints wreaked havoc on business and economies.
“We have turned the challenges we faced in 2021 into opportunities that put us in a superior position as we prepare for the gradual exit from the pandemic and consequent recovery of the economy, increased consumption and higher demand for services,” Tan and Dee said.
As individuals and business organizations across the globe struggled to cope with the persistence of the COVID-19 onslaught in 2021, BancNet tapped opportunities to simultaneously sustain the business, provide members and participants the infrastructure and facility to deliver to their customers greater, more convenient, yet secure access for their banking and payment needs, and ensure the health and safety of all stakeholders.
Amid mobility restrictions, new consumer habits and behavior were created particularly the accelerated adoption of online transactions and payments.
As trust in and usage of cashless payments and fund transfers grew, BancNet quickly capitalized on this new preference for electronic and digital transactions that promoted convenience and safety.
BancNet continues to promote payments digitalization in the country as it completed two complex projects involving the migration of InstaPay to a new and more robust platform powered by the cutting edge Vocalink technology.
This world-class infrastructure also gives BancNet the capability to process real time transactions other than payments and remittances to adapt to changing consumer needs and behavior.
BancNet is working on instaPay Debit Pull, an account-toaccount fund transfer that involves sending of a pull request from the receiving financial institution. This service will be positioned to replace the current bilateral relationships on wallet top-up between financial institutions. It can also support Corporate Pull transactions and, consequently, allow BancNet to move into large-value wholesale realtime payments.
It is also collaborating closely with the Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI), the instaPay automated clearing house and the BSP to enable cross-border payments between Philippines and Singapore and Malaysia.
At the same time, it is also implementing Trace and Alert, a fraud analytics tool that will warn participants of unusual transaction patterns so that they could investigate and avert or mitigate money laundering attempts.
BancNet upgraded various hardware and software systems to strengthen security and risk management of its network, database, and participants. It also subscribed to managed services such as Managed Detection and Response as well as Managed Defense for a more proactive response to cybersecurity threats.
As a result, the strict compliance with global security standards once again earned for BancNet a PCI-DSS Compliance Certificate.
It also fully implemented its Settlement Risk Management framework by entering into a collateral management arrangement with Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. (PDTC) to manage and minimize settlement risk.
Members participating in the collateral management arrangement put up collateral with PDTC in the form of government securities to mitigate inherent settlement risks associated with the availment of certain BancNet services.
“BancNet further turned the continuing challenges of the pandemic into opportunities in 2021. It recalibrated its business approaches and processes to be more responsive to the requirements of its members and partners. It faces 2022 with even more confidence and optimism as it seeks to apply its industry learnings to help hasten economic recovery,” Tan and Dee said.
BancNet started its operations on July 17, 1990 and now has 122 members and affiliates whose nationwide network of 24,023 ATMs and 465,057 POS terminals served a card base of 98.51 million as of end June this year.