Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has partnered with store digital solution platform GrowSari to enable micro and small enterprises to facilitate digital transactions with their customers.
The partnership, made through a memorandum of agreement, is a valuable addition to RCBC’s growing list of initiatives for digital transformation and financial inclusion.
Customers can now pay Growsari sari-sari store merchants with their RCBC Digital and other QR PH Payment-to-Merchant (P2M)-registered online banking or e-wallet apps. GrowSari’s sub-merchants can accept digital payments with the help of QR PH codes.
Payments will register real-time to the Growsari merchant’s closed-loop e-wallet facility. The sellers can also document transactions with the help of digital receipts and records.
All digital payments received through the QR code are credited on their Growsari merchant wallet that can be used seamlessly for all other Growsari transactions such as ordering FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and e-service products like load, bills or wallet top-ups without the restrictive limits of personal wallets.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) launched the QR PH codes to enable BSP-regulated banks to generate codes that people can use for digital payments. The code allows consumers to make transactions across banks and service-providers. The BSP highlights the initiative as a crucial step towards accelerating interoperability of payment solutions in the country.
RCBC’s participation is vital to GrowsSari’s growth as a digital solutions provider which allowed the onboarding of over 20,000 QR PH-enabled sari sari store merchants. It aims to expand its number to at least 200,000 starting next year
“We are pleased to show support for BSP’s initiative for a cash-lite society through QRPH to our market. This also strengthens Growsari’s commitment to assist mSMEs to adapt to the age of digitalization and to modernize their store operations,” Sandeep Bhalla, GrowSari’s head of financial services, said.
“The partnership shows that Growsari and RCBC continue to strengthen our commitment to uplift and digitize the MSMEs. We see this as a huge opportunity where Growsari’s wide network to sari-sari stores and RCBC’s expertise and Instapay membership can come in,” the executive added.
“Micro and small enterprises are pillars of the Philippine economy. Our partnership with GrowSari signals that their contributions to our growing economy are vital in society. Seamless payment transactions through the digital platform like RCBC DiskarTech, RCBC ATM Go, and RCBC Digital app improve livelihoods and accelerate digital financial inclusion in the country,” Lito Villanueva, EVP and chief innovation and inclusion officer of RCBC, said.
“This partnership represents the core purpose of RCBC – pursuing innovations that convey empathy. Afterall, the end goal of every collaboration is to positively transform lives and fully realize the Filipino aspirations. It’s all about collaboration with impact,” Villanueva added.
RCBC is renowned for its digital solutions — RCBC DiskarTech and RCBC ATM Go, which became critical building blocks of the government’s financial inclusion initiatives.
