The banking arm of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has earmarked P1 billion to upgrade its core banking system and automated teller machines in the country to further improve customer experience across multiple channels.
The money will also be used by Bank of Commerce to install additional machines at strategic offsite locations.
BankCom has strengthened its digital capabilities through its enhanced mobile banking and web platform which has been made more secure and convenient through biometrics and a suite of new features — all part of the P1.2 billion spending it rolled out in 2019.
With this, users can now transfer funds to a mobile number or e-mail address and build savings via its “E-Saver” function. Online card transactions, QR-based payments, and integration with electronic payment service provider ECPay are also being lined up.
Noting the banking sector’s critical role in spurring economic recovery, SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang said BankCom’s upgrade of its IT and digital infrastructure is key to meeting the challenges of banking in the new normal and serving the needs of retail customers, SMEs, and corporate clients.
“ We believe in the bank’s strong potential, that’s why we are investing to upgrade and enhance its capabilities to serve more clients,” Ang said.
Further IT developments are underway to beef up BankCom’s performance in trade finance, loan management, risk management, as well as cash management, which it estimates to bring in transaction values exceeding P10 billion from corporate and manager’s check facilities alone, and more than P1.5 billion from direct and cross-border fund transfers.
Enrollments in BankCom [Personal] jumped 34.6 percent after the first mobile app version was released in 2020, followed by a 30.8 percent increase last year.
