RCBC gears up for shiftto digitalized economy

MANILA, Philippines — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is gearing up for the paradigm shift to a digitalized society especially in banking, financial services and insurance from a heavy cash-based economy.

Lito Villanueva, chief digital innovations officer at RCBC, said ongoing digitalization is brought by the demand created by the consumers.

“The consumers dictate what they need, and they need faster, more secured platforms to conduct their transaction,” Villanueva said.

He told participants of the 2019 Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum that digitalization is not the disruptor in the businesses and industries, but the evolving consumer demands.

“Consumers will use technology or service or products that will address his or her pain points. In this paradigm shift, it is about consumer experience,” he said.

According to Villanueva, Filipinos spend an average of 10 hours every day on the web through their mobile phone, laptops, tablets and other devices.

“We see a lot of opportunities in this shift that the country is going through, and we want to capture a chunk of that growth that the country is expected to realize in the next two to five years. For us, collaboration and customer adoption are the key imperatives,” he said.

Even for internal auditors, as well as risk and fraud officers, he said there have been a number of disruptive forces to reckon with including keeping up with new regulations, changes in business model and strategies, cybersecurity and privacy threats, and swift technology advancement.

About three percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 was derived from digital products and services created directly through the use of technologies including mobility, cloud, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence.

Based on the Microsoft Research on Unlocking the Economic Impact of Digital Transformation in Asia Pacific, as much as 40 percent or $8 billion would be contributed by digital products and services to the country’s GDP by 2021.

Villanueva said the Yuchengco Group of Companies continues to embark on a digital transformation journey to meet its clients’ evolving needs.

“With RCBC as the heart of the business, its banking arm is expected to spearhead the digital revolution within the conglomerate,” he said.