Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) is expanding its ATM Go network into geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) by leveraging Starlink satellite internet.

This initiative supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) objective to improve financial inclusion in underserved regions through satellite technology.

The ATM Go service functions as a “kapitbahay ATM”. It allows local merchants like sari-sari stores and cooperatives to offer essential banking services.

These terminals enable cash withdrawals, deposits, fund transfers, and bill payments in areas that lack traditional bank branches.

Currently, approximately a quarter of RCBC’s merchant partners rely on satellite connectivity to maintain operations in locations where telecommunications infrastructure is unreliable or non-existent.

Lito Villanueva, RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer, noted that sustainable financial inclusion requires reliable connectivity.

He stated,

“By adopting satellite internet as a backbone for service delivery in remote and GIDA communities, RCBC is delivering on the promise of inclusive digital banking for all Filipinos”.

The bank has extended these services across all 82 Philippine provinces.

It includes regions in southern Mindanao that have historically faced connectivity gaps, all by utilising Starlink’s low-latency coverage

This deployment aligns with recent coordination between the BSP and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to use satellite infrastructure to increase digital payment adoption outside major urban centres.

The system empowers local merchants to act as financial touchpoints, promoting economic activity at the community level.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by Juan J. J. Labrador via Freepik.