BancNet expands membership to 59 as of end-2009

MANILA, Philippines - BancNet has expanded its membership to 59 at end-2009, bringing its automated teller machine (ATM) network to almost 4,000 units and staking its claim as the only multi-bank, multi-channel payment gateway in the country.

The 10 new members that joined the network last year are Philippine National Bank (PNB), Equicom Savings Bank, Maybank Philippines, China Bank Savings, Wealth Bank, Entrepreneur Bank, Optimum Development Bank, Rural Bank of Dulag, Gubat St. Anthony Cooperative and News Multi-Purpose Cooperative. The last two are financial cooperatives.

PNB president Omar Byron Mier said through BancNet, its depositors can access debit shopping or payment using their ATM cards, online filing and payment of state pension fund contributions and loan payments.

The new members boosted the number of BancNet ATM cardholders to 8.4 million, increasing by 1.5 million or 22.85 percent in 2009. The country’s three ATM networks (including Megalink and ExpessNet) have a combined cardholder base of 23.7 million.

A record number of switched transactions were registered last Dec. 23 at 1.89 million. These are intra-network and inter-network balance inquiry and withdrawal transactions that passed through the BancNet switch. Total volume of switched transactions during the year rose 46.1 percent to 286.6 million compared to 2008.

BancNet also expanded its payment terminal network to 11,435 terminals in more than 2,700 retail establishments where its cardholders can pay using their ATM cards. Cardholders can also pay their bills to 76 merchants either through the ATM, website www.bancnetonline.com, or their mobile phones.