Rural banks 'quick link' with insurers,m-banking partners

MANILA, Philippines - The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprises Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) has introduced “speed networking” to connect rural banks with insurance providers, MABS service providers (MSPs), and ATM and m-banking partners.

At the 2011 National Roundtable Conference, RBAP-MABS employed a speed networking approach to facilitate networking among rural banks and other microfinance partners so as to nurture relationships and explore partnerships and business opportunities.

Speed networking is a social and business-networking event based on speed dating and a Jewish tradition of chaperoned gatherings of young Jewish singles, originally intended to keep Jewish singles from marrying out of faith.

MABS modified the original mechanics of this approach to structure an innovative networking opportunity for its partners.

There were 11 institutions with their own “stations” to which participants rotated in small groups. Participants were given six minutes to interact with each group.

Through this activity, RBAP-MABS connected rural banks with partners offering microinsurance, mobile phone banking, and the MABS Approach. Moreover, the activity paved the way for business partnerships to increase access to microfinance clients to a broader array of products and services.

Presenting their products and services to rural bankers were microinsurance providers (Bankers Assurance, Cocolife, Country Bankers Life Insurance, MicroEnsure Philippines, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance, Pioneer Life Inc.); ATM (automated teller machine) providers (ENCASH and InfoServe/Nationlink), MF Transparency, Punla sa Tao Foundation, and Globe Telecom’s G-Xchange Inc. (GXI).

GXI offered the participating rural banks an opportunity to become channels for the distribution of conditional cash transfer (CCT) grants for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).