BIZ BUZZ: Sending money from rural to metro… instantly

Out in the countryside, life is slow. But transferring money? Done in seconds.

Thanks to SynerFi—jointly created by Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) and instant payments infrastructure provider Higala Group Inc., eight rural banks can now enjoy real-time fund transfer via Instapay.

These are Rural Bank of San Antonio, Inc., Rural Bank of Lipa City (Batangas), Inc., Progressive Rural Bank, Inc., Banco Abucay, Inc., Rural Bank of Hermosa (Bataan), Inc., Money Mall Rural Bank, Inc., First Philippine Partners, Bank, Inc. (A Rural Bank) and Lagawe Highlands Rural Bank, Inc.

“This marks the beginning of empowering the underserved banking sector by enabling them to offer digital banking services that are otherwise available only to mainstream and traditional banks,” said Winston Damarilio, president and CEO of Higala.

Lito Villanueva, executive vice president and chief innovation officer of RCBC, said they were courting more banks to join the system.

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Providing more momentum to SynerFi, Higala secured new funds amounting to $4 million from venture capitalists Talino Venture Studios, Chemonics International, Kadan Capital, Tenco Capital and 1982 Ventures.

“Fresh funds from our investors will help accelerate Higala’s capabilities of powering SynerFi and helping more financial institutions grow and expand their services to their customers and become active players in the digital economy,” Damarilio said.