RCBC eyes 15% hike in remittance biz

MANILA, Philippines - The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is targeting a 15 percent increase in its remittance business this year.

RCBC executive vice president and Global Transaction Services Group head Gary B. Villanueva said that the largest transfers came from its Middle East business, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“That was nearly fifty percent of RCBC’s total personal remittance business last year,” Villanueva said.

After the Middle East accounts, Europe accounted for roughly 20 percent followed by the North America/Canada with a market share of 15 percent. The bank’s Asian business, mainly coming from Hong Kong and Singapore, accounted for the remaining 10 to 15 percent of the total.

Villanueva said they will continue to look for more partnerships with both bank and non-bank institutions to expand its reach overseas.

Non-bank institutions include international money transfer companies such as Western Union. In most Middle Eastern countries, the money transfers business is through domestic banks or money transfer firms.

In the past four years, overseas transaction contributed over P8-billion in checking account-savings account (CASA) business and was responsible for the expansion of total deposit base by another 30 percent.

“Some foreign and domestic corporates prefer to open accounts and charge their fees through their deposits,” Villanueva added.