CARD Bank opens 87th Branch

CARD Bank, a microfinance-oriented rural bank, opened its 87thbranch in San Pablo at Maharlika High Way, Bgry. San Roque, San Pablo City, Laguna on Monday, May 21, 2018, in response to the ever-growing number and needs of its clients.

“Our outreach in terms of number of clients here in the city and nearby areas continue to grow. Hence, a more accessible and bigger bank is needed,” said Marivic Austria, president and CEO.

Austria also takes pride in the said expansion because this is the first branch of CARD Bank, which was approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in just four months. This time, however, we are blessed enough to have opened a branch just in time to meet the needs of our clients,” added Austria.

Zenaida Reyes, one of the members of the bank, said that she and her co-clients are grateful of the new branch in Maharlika. “It is now more convenient for us to do our banking transactions because the branch is closer to where we live and do our business transactions,” added Reyes.

Moreover, Austria emphasized that the bank is owned by the clients so it should be designed for their convenience. “We have invested in the construction of our branches so we could offer the best and most convenient banking experience for our clients.”

Embracing digital transformation
CARD Bank, assured by Austria, is firm to its commitment of ensuring that the bank is always at par with modern banking technology. “We will continue to innovate our processes to be able to become relevant to our clients but we want to remain connected and not losing our personal interaction with them,” she added.

True to its commitment, the newest branch is now using the cardless cash machine (or cardless automated teller machine), which will be launched officially on June 1, 2018.

CARD Bank clients can now process their withdrawals and other transactions through smart phones, even without ATM cards.“They just have to download the konek2CARD mobile app and register their Matapat ATM or Pledge Savings account,” explained Austria.

The konek2CARD mobile application is one of the alternative delivery channels realized because of the Core Banking System (CBS), a centralized banking system of CARD Bank developed in collaboration with collaboration with CARD MRI Information Technology (CMIT) and Fortress Data Services (FDS)

A client who has a Matapat ATM or Pledge Savings account may access and maximize the mobile application through client or self-initiated transactions.

“This is also the first branch of CARD Bank where all clients are core-banking system ready,” said Austria.

Issues about ATM scams like card reader tampering or ATM skimming were among the reasons of the innovative action. “We are looking forward to this new journey. We are also delighted to hear positive feedback from the test users of the cardless cash machine,” said Ronnie Fallega, vice-president for IT/CIO.

Dr. Dolores M. Torres, adviser and vice-chair of the Board of the bank, also expressed her gratitude to all the clients who believed and are still with them. “This digital transformation is not an easy journey to take on but we will continue to go extra mile just to make sure that this new technology is well accepted among our clients.”

With its 87thbranch and digital transformation, CARD Bank is looking forward for more expansion this year to reach and serve more people, upholding the overall vision of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI)to eradicate poverty in the country. CARD Bank and CMIT are both member institutions of CARD MRI.