UNCERTAINTY Concerns over US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China are expected to weigh heavily in crude price sentiments when the market opens today. RAFAEL TABOY “Digital transaction cuts the costs for customers and the bank. When you lend to a rural area, you should provide them the convenience of getting and paying for the money.”

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) unit, Rizal Microbank, announced its plan to pilot its digital lending platform to corn farmers in Mindanao with the aim of launching the program across the country.

Rizal Microbank president Raymundo Roxas made the announced at a media roundtable and said that the bank is offering the financial window through its digital money platform ePiso for corn farmers in Valencia City, Bukidnon.

“Digital transaction cuts the costs for customers and the bank. When you lend to a rural area, you should provide them the convenience of getting and paying for the money,” Roxas said.

He said that instead of going back and forth to the bank to process their loans, get the money, and pay for it, these could now be done through RCBC’s ePiso.

He explained that a farmer would receive their loans through the ePiso and in partial amount, depending on their financial needs for a particular farming stage.

Roxas said this would help farmers spend their loans for farming, and not on other expenses.

He added that Rizal Microbank is now partnering with value chain players in corn production to be merchants on ePiso, so that farmers could buy their farming needs through ePiso using the loans that they received via the same platform.

Roxas mentioned that the bank sees a huge opportunity in lending to the agriculture sector given the robust economy, and added that the loan facility would further boost the demand for agricultural products.

He noted that the bank’s lending business is led by the growth in loans from the agriculture sector.

Moreover, the executive pointed out that this initiative is in line with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ push for financial inclusion.

He said that Rizal Microbank digital lending for agriculture sector helps farmers to have financial accounts, and the ePiso facilitates economic activities on their accounts.

“We help those unbanked to have bank accounts and make sure that there they are using their accounts on different transactions,” Roxas said.

Rizal Microbank has 18 branches across the country — eight in Mindanao, eight in Southern Tagalog, and two in the Visayas. With PNA