Rural bank customers are gaining access to mobile banking and digital payment services for the first time through SynerFi, an open payments platform that connects small financial institutions to the InstaPay network.

At a media briefing on Wednesday, Winston Damarillo, President and CEO of Higala, which powers SynerFi, said the platform will offer white-label mobile banking applications with digital onboarding, CASA and payment services, and teller web applications—without requiring significant capital or internal tech resources.

“This marks the beginning of empowering the underserved banking sector by enabling them to offer digital banking services that are otherwise available only to mainstream and traditional banks,” Damarillo said. 

SynerFi is still in its early phase but has already onboarded eight rural banks, with a target of reaching 40 by year-end.

The initial banks include Rural Bank of San Antonio, Rural Bank of Lipa City, Progressive Rural Bank, Banco Abucay, Rural Bank of Hermosa, Money Mall Rural Bank, First Philippine Partners Bank, and Lagawe Highlands Rural Bank.

RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva said democratizing access to financial services would help rural bank users thrive, noting that only 5 percent of the country’s 358 rural banks are currently part of the digital payments ecosystem.

“Connecting rural banks to Instapay and the wider digital ecosystem is not simply an act of digitalization, but a deeper commitment to accelerate financial inclusion in underserved areas. 

SynerFi continues to demonstrate its promise to drive financial access beyond urban areas and materialize the government's sustainable agenda," Villanueva said.

While the country currently processes around 152 million transactions through InstaPay, Higala’s infrastructure can handle up to 300 million. 

With multiple transaction routes, SynerFi expects volumes to grow as it expands capacity and partners with more rural banks—shifting from a closed-loop system to a multi-bank open platform.

The system under development offers twice the current national capacity at just a quarter of the cost, with reliability and scalability as key priorities.

To support the platform’s potential expansion, Higala has raised its seed funding round to $4 million, backed by Talino Venture Studios, Chemonics International, Kadan Capital, Tenco Capital, and 1982 Ventures.

“Fresh funds from our investors will help accelerate Higala’s capabilities of powering SynerFi and helping more financial institutions grow and expand their services to their customers and become active players in the digital economy,” Damarillo said.