The London-based Financial Times-owned international monthly publication “The Banker” has named Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) Lito Villanueva as the Chief Innovation Officer of the Year at the Innovation in Digital Banking Awards 2021.
The award is organised by The Banker, a UK-based English language international monthly financial affairs publication that was established in 1926 and is owned by The Financial Times.
Villanueva who is the Executive Vice President and Chief Inclusion and Innovation Officer at RCBC has been at the helm of the bank’s digital transformation since his onboarding in 2019.
The award highlights how RCBC under Villanueva’s digital leadership, led the first massive private initiative in the country to disburse government’s financial aid during the pandemic.
It also underscored the importance the DiskarTech, financial inclusion super app for the low-income group and those who may be new to digital banking, especially in a country like the Philippines where over 71% of adults or 51 million adult Filipinos remain unbanked and many have no access to bank branches.
RCBC also became the first local universal bank to have the most extensive reach through branchless banking.
The RCBC DiskarTech app has registered customers from across all 81 provinces in the Philippines within the first five months from launch.
With over 25 years of experience in banking, telecommunications, payments, development finance, advisory, and financial technology, he also serves as the founding chairman of Fintech Alliance.ph.
“We are grateful for this recognition from a prestigious institution like The Banker. There’s still a lot to be done, and many more customer segments we need to cover, and we are working on it.
This is all possible thanks to the hardworking teams who share the vision of a cash-lite, accessible and inclusive digital finance in the Philippines that can withstand disruptions,”
said Villanueva.
