MANILA, Philippines — Electronic banking consortium BancNet Inc. sees the sustained uptrend in digital and ATM transactions as the economy continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BancNet president Fabian Dee said the consortium continues to play a pivotal role in expanding digital payments.
Dee, president and CEO of Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., said 2022 was a record year for BancNet as its main businesses, InstaPay and ATM set new records in both volume and value.
Dee reported that the net income of BancNet jumped by 47.6 percent to P99.14 million last year as revenues surged by 72.7 percent to P2.26 billion
This translated to a higher return on equity (ROE) of 9.82 percent from 7.05 percent in 2021 as well as improved earnings per share to P52.37 from P35.49.
Operating expenses jumped by 68.5 percent to P2.15 billion due to higher costs for the Vocalink processing cost that reached P1.55 billion.
“We expect the upward trend in transactions to continue in 2023 and beyond. For InstaPay, the interoperable BillsPay Ph, a service we launched in 2022; our various efforts to expand the adoption of payments to merchants using a QR Ph code; and a new use case we will introduce this year will contribute to this trend,” Dee said.
According to its CEO Elmarie Reyes, BancNet processed a record 1.27 billion interbank transactions last year, 19 percent more than the total in 2021.
InstaPay transactions jumped by 25 percent to 538 million, while ATM withdrawals grew by 16 percent to 389 million and POS transactions increased by 25 percent to 124 million.
Likewise, BDO president and CEO Nestor Tan was reelected as chair of the board of directors of BancNet.
“BancNet will continue to be an enabler. Our key role is to allow financial institutions and money or electronic wallets to have interconnectivity with each other. BancNet is the link that opens a new entrance into the whole ecosystem. This is why, now and in the future, stability of operations is crucial,” Tan said
“We can sum it up in two words: No surprises. We have to keep on top of capacity, keep on top of resiliency, keep on top of the battle against cyberattacks, keep on top of technology. A lot of work is involved in making sure that we stay on top of developments. We cannot be left behind because we have the whole industry relying on us. If BancNet falls behind, it will have an impact on the whole economy,” Tan added.
Total assets increased by 17.7 percent to P1.42 billion in 2021, driven by the rise in revenue collection. Total equity stood at P1.06 billion, up by 11.52 percent due to the higher net income.