Thai, Sri Lankan bankers study Phl mobile banking

MANILA, Philippines - Representatives from Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and the People’s Bank and Central Bank of Sri Lanka were in the Philippines recently to observe first hand how mobile banking services are affecting positively the rural communities in the Philippines.

The Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) co-organized the international study visit program to propagate global mobile banking services for poverty alleviation and rural development.

The MABS is a program generated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The representatives of both institutions are interested in the mechanics of how banks made use of mobile money platforms, how the banks educate their customers, and the important role that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) played in creating an enabling environment for mobile money platforms and mobile banking services.

The group also visited GM Bank to learn first hand how rural bank clients make use of mobile phone banking services.

 GM Bank is based in Nueva Ecija and one of the progressive rural banks in Central Luzon.

Earlier, the RBAP-MABS and RBAP-Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc. (RBRDFI) jointly conducted a two-day training on the fundamental concepts and principles of microinsurance for 15 rural banks operating in Mindanao. In fact, it is the sixth batch of rural banks trained by RBAP since the initial pilot in January 2011.

The training employed a variety of simulation activities, group interaction and workshops to instill among participants practical knowledge and skills on microinsurance sales and servicing.

To date, a total of 130 individuals from the rural banking sector successfully completed the RBAP MI Basic Training course.