MABS Microfinance Philippines

Report

USAID’s Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program has helped Philippine rural banks roll out mobile phone banking to their customers in partnership with the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) and Globe Telecom’s GCASH platform, offering services such as Text-A-Payment, Text-A-Deposit, Text-A-Withdrawal and Text-A-Sweldo (salary). By late 2008, 43 rural banks had been accredited to offer GCASH-based mobile banking with MABS support, and ten of the top-performing banks were recognised at the Rural Bankers Association’s 51st Charter Anniversary Symposium, themed ‘Banking on Technology’, where US Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney praised rural banks as the primary providers of financial services to the country’s micro and small enterprises.