RCBC Bankard Services Corporation, the credit card arm of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has snatched the Mobile Banking and Payment Initiative of the Year at the Asian Banking and Finance’ (ABF) 2021 Wholesale Banking Awards and Retail Banking Awards.
In giving the award, ABF, the leading publication for banking and finance executives in Asia, recognized the unique and innovative features of the RCBC Online Banking app, specific to functionalities available to RCBC Bankard credit cardholders.
RCBC Bankard President Arniel Vincent B. Ong said cardholders were able to manage their finances efficiently and conveniently through the special features of RCBC’s Online Banking app, especially the bills payment and purchase conversion despite the pandemic.
“The pandemic has disrupted the way things are being done. Nonetheless, RCBC Bankard was quick in identifying cardholder concerns and their related business impact. Together with RCBC, the issuing bank, we implemented this digital channel with easy-to-use functionalities,” Ong said.
“Our commitment to our customers is that we will continue innovating to deliver mobile and payment solutions that truly respond to their needs and deliver the best customer experience,” he added.
RCBC Bankard’s online bills payment feature, called Fast BillsPay, allows cardholders to pay for their bills such as utility bills and more using their credit card. What is unique about the feature is that aside from doing one-time payments, cardholders can enroll in auto-charge arrangements of these bills with RCBC’s partners so that the monthly recurring payments will automatically be charged to their credit card.
During the pandemic, RCBC Bankard saw tremendous growth in this facility, with bills payment volumes growing by 2.5 times year on year.
Purchase Conversion, on the other hand, allows cardholders to convert the straight purchases they made at any merchant, including those purchased overseas or online, to three months - zero percent installment or up to 36 months installment with minimal interest.
RCBC Bankard noted an increase in the usage of this feature over the past year, with more than 80 percent of transactions now going through the app.