[FEATURING] RCBC’s DiskarTech app rolls out new offerings for OFWs, teachers

RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp.’s (RCBC) DiskarTech app has launched new services to target several groups, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), teachers and small businesses.

The platform will offer collateral-free credit for OFWs through its loan marketplace this May, which will allow migrant workers to borrow up to P500,000, RCBC said in a statement. The OFW loans will have a one-year payment scheme.

DiskarTech also teamed up with the Gabay Guro mobile app of the PLDT-Smart Foundation to offer basic deposit account and insurance products that will be accessible to teachers. The Gabay Guro app originally allowed teachers to schedule classes and attend training to boost their online teaching skills.

“Teachers can now avail of the financial products of DiskarTech without even leaving their houses. It is a one-stop shop. It’s like you guys going to school and then going to work and then going to the bank at the same time,” Gabay Guro Chairman Chaye C. Revilla was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, DiskarTech also unveiled a new microinsurance scheme for small businesses, which includes fire cash assistance in its coverage.

DiskarTech has also partnered with the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and Employment to offer webinars on financial inclusion, as well as financial health and management for various labor groups, including teachers.

The app was launched in July last year and offered basic deposit accounts with no initial deposit or maintaining balance requirement. It also offers bills payment and a loan marketplace where credit will be provided by lending platforms.

RCBC booked a net profit of P5 billion in 2020, down by 7% from a year earlier, as the bank beefed up its loan loss reserves amid the crisis.

The bank’s shares closed unchanged at P18.28 apiece on Tuesday.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — L.W.T. Noble