CANBNK provides Mobile Banking Services for over 100 Underbanked Communities
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur – Cantilan Bank (CANBNK), a pioneer in digital countryside finance, carries out its mobile-first strategy by officially launching its latest digital channel, the iCAN mobile banking app, delivering safe and secure cashless financial services to underbanked communities 24/7, and giving them efficient mobile access to core transactions such as fund transfer, bills payment, prepaid phone reloading, and QR code payment.
CANBNK has been a main advocate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 2020-2023, where the goal is for 50% of total retail transaction volume to go digital and 70% of Filipino adults to be financially included.
“Cantilan Bank’s determination and commitment to genuinely help people in the countryside have indeed become its driving force toward innovation. It is the first bank in the country to adopt cloud-based technology for its core banking system—paving the way for other rural banks to do the same. For this achievement, the BSP honored Cantilan Bank with the 2019 Digital Trailblazer Award in our Stakeholders Awards Ceremony,” says BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.
The BSP has recently granted the licenses and approvals for CANBNK to operate as an Electronic Money Issuer – Bank (EMI-Bank), to engage in Agency Banking, and to offer a cloud-based Electronic Payment and Financial Service (EPFS). This allows the bank’s clients to access mobile banking, e-wallet, and cash agency services all in one app.
iCAN is a prime example of how innovation is achieved through partnership, as made possible with the support of and collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), regional innovation center and marketplace, APIX, and the fintech, Geniusto.
ADB has been an integral part of CANBNK’s digital success, noting their key role in furthering financial inclusion across the rural banking industry. “We are inspired by Cantilan Bank who continues to pave the way for many others in the finance sector and leveraging digital technology for innovative transformation. They have demonstrated that a small rural bank can also be innovative and technologically-adept”, ADB Chief of the Finance Sector Group, Junkyu Lee, says.
IFC provided strategic advisory services to CANBNK, supporting the bank in the development of its omni-channel mobile banking and payments solution. IFC Global Digital Finance Specialist Lowell Campbell, who has been supporting CANBNK in its digital transformation, said: “We are proud to have been part of Cantilan Bank’s journey to advance its digital financial services, which will ultimately improve financial inclusion in the Philippines. We look forward to supporting the team in their next steps, which will involve providing the next level of innovation in mobile banking in a sustainable and relevant manner to the communities that they serve.”
CANBNK intends to maximize its digital and cloud-based omni-channel platform to effectively increase end-client access to a variety of digital financial services during the pandemic crisis through partnerships with regional digital innovation champions such as APIX, the world’s first cross-border, open architecture API marketplace and sandbox platform for collaboration between FinTechs and Financial Institutions.
In developing a multi-faceted mobile app, Shane Hermans, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Geniusto, worked side-by-side with CANBNK in delivering the best version of iCAN to its clients. He mentions, “We’ve had the pleasure of experiencing hands-on the accelerated objective of onboarding the rural landscape to the digital space. The Cantilan Bank staff has been further ensuring better, safer, more economical services to be in place for its customers. The iCAN is a first step to our continued partnership of digital expansion in the rural countryside.”
Staying relevant, competitive and sustainable in a post-Covid19 digital economy, CANBNK Chairman of the Board, Lieutenant General William K. Hotchkiss III, AFP (Ret.), highlights the need to adopt a mobile-first strategy with a customer-centric business model, to diversify online products and service channels, and to continue the meaningful process of digital transformation.
iCAN is now available for download on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Additional Info:
ABOUT CANTILAN BANK
Cantilan Bank (CANBNK) is a rural bank established in 1980 in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao. Currently, CANBNK serves over 100 underbanked communities providing innovative products and services across its network of 46 Branches and Branch lites across 12 provinces in Mindanao and Visayas.
CANBNK’s mission is to achieve Financial Inclusion or “a state wherein there is effective access to a wide range of financial services for all.” CANBNK is regarded as one of the leading rural banks in the country with total assets of Php 2.3 billion as of December 2020. Cantilan Bank is regulated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and is a member of BancNet, PPMI, and PesoNet. Deposits are PDIC-insured up to P500,000.00 per depositor.
ABOUT GENIUSTO
Geniusto is a pre-eminent technology solutions company that provides next-gen financial software solutions and services to more than 25 countries. Working closely with local and global partners ensures that our solutions and services accelerate digital transformation, financial inclusion, financial education and economic growth.
ABOUT THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines. It was established on 3 July 1993 pursuant to the provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the New Central Bank Act of 1993. The BSP took over from Central Bank of the Philippines, which was established on 3 January 1949, as the country’s central monetary authority. The BSP enjoys fiscal and administrative autonomy from the National Government in the pursuit of its mandated responsibilities.
ABOUT THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Established in 1966 with 68 members at present, ADB is a regional development bank committed in achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, with concentrated efforts in eradicating extreme poverty.
ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
ABOUT APIX
APIX, the flagship product of ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), is a global cloud-based platform that enables financial institutions and fintechs to discover one another on a curated global marketplace, design experiments collaboratively in the sandbox and deploy innovative solutions rapidly at a lower cost.
ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) is a non-profit organisation founded by the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA), the World Bank’s IFC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Its Corporate Founding Members are AMTD Foundation and Mastercard. AFIN’s objective is to support experimentation and collaboration between financial institutions and financial technology service providers so as to promote greater financial innovation and inclusion in ASEAN and beyond.