Micropreneurs expand business successfully with RCBC DiskarTech
COVID-19 has undoubtedly brought significant changes to people’s lives, not even the business industry was spared. Suffering the brunt of the pandemic were business owners who were either prompted to stop their operations. However, given the Filipinos’ unparalleled ability to adapt in times of crises, some business owners made sound decisions by shifting to being micro entrepreneurs to save their livelihood.
The pandemic has increased the number of microenterprises as more quick-thinking food & beverage entrepreneurs changed their strategy by selling frozen foods such as ready-to-cook meats, dimsums, dumplings, and even dips, sauces, and condiments, online. There are also employees who were laid off from work who started their own home-based cake and pastry business. When people’s movements were limited due to the lockdown, another micro-business that became popular was the “Pasabuy”, a trend that comes from the Filipino term ‘pasabay’ which means to buy something on behalf of clients. With the pasabuy business, the “pasabuyers” purchase grocery items, medicines, school or office supplies, and other basic needs or whatever e-customers (who don’t want to leave their homes) want to shop for.
Micropreneurs adapt to the contactless society
One of the most popular home-based businesses, way before the pandemic crisis happened, is the sari-sari store (variety store), which is called so because of it being a quaint neighborhood store—usually a small annex of a house—selling a variety of goods. Scattered in almost all streets in the Philippines, sari-sari stores are touted to be the community versions of convenience stores.
Robert* has been running his own variety store.
“I have had my sari-sari store for years now, and it has helped augment our family income,” Robert shared. He also added that his sari-sari store sells everything every family needs—from sodas, munchies and snacks, pantry staples such as rice, condiments, spices, packed noodles, and also toiletries and even school supplies.
Adapting to the circumstances, micro enterprises—such as Robert’s sari-sari store—are also evolving under the new normal that requires a more contactless society. Aside from all his merchandise, this 49-year-old sari-sari store owner shared that he has also started offering additional services: “I do accept bills payment, and cash in and cash out for customers who want to pay their monthly utility bills, and send or receive money,” he enlightened.
For such transactions, micropreneurs like Robert, use RCBC’s Diskartech because it allows his customers to handily pay their bills through, or send and withdraw money, especially when most of his customers are still cautious about going to a physical payment center, or queue in banks for their own health and safety.
DiskarTech for every ‘ma-diskarteng’ micropreneurs
Because microenterprises are small, there is always the premise that their business won’t grow unless an aggressive strategy is put in place. For instance, a pop-up cart selling milk tea or homemade pizza in a street corner is presumed not to grow in leaps and bounds unless the vendor has the resources to hire others who can perform the same task consistently and the assets to expand it by acquiring more carts and placing them in more street community corners. However, that’s not always the case as all micro businesses could have the chance for growth and expansion with RCBC’s DiskarTech, the first Taglish financial inclusion app that empowers micropreneurs to diversify in their services, just like how Robert’s sari-sari store has started to offer add-on services such as bills payment, cash in and cash out, utilities payment, and sending or receiving money, and all the vital financial services needed by Filipino consumers in sachet format.
Diskartech is a game-changer when it comes to digital inclusion in the finance ecosystem as it respects and embraces micro businesses like homemade bakeshops, pasabuy FB pages, home-based food & beverage businesses, and even sari-sari stores. Since its inception two years ago, DiskarTech has afforded micro business owners an option to earn extra income through its PAKIsuyo Services, which allows them to charge a minimal convenience fee for every pakisuyo transaction such as payments, cash in and cash out services, purchase of micro insurance and telemedicine, and e-loading, among others. As RCBC continues micropreneurs during difficult circumstances, it has upped the DiskarTech’s ante through their five-pronged innovations that ensures every madiskarteng Pinoy micropreneur by offering them efficient and easily accessible digital finance service options that will help them grow their businesses, while simultaneously promoting inclusive digital finance solutions to their customers.
A variety of support for variety store owners and other micropreneurs
Micropreneurs including sari-sari store owners like Robert can be insured and empowered through DiskarTech’s programs such as the Sari-sari Savings, where micro-retailers and other SMEs can open their first basic deposit accounts (BDAs) which formally onboard them to the digital finance ecosystem. Using their DiskarTech accounts, small business owners can keep their profits and savings in a more secured platform. Moreover, their savings in DiskarTech can even earn with a 3.25-percent interest annually with no required initial deposit, no maintaining balance, and no dormancy fees.
Micro business owners like Robert will benefit from DiskarTech’s Sari-sari Payments, as his sari-sari store will become easy access point to Filipino consumers in need of accessible contactless channels for their digital payment transactions, including free fund transfers via Instapay, bills payment and e-loading services. Leveraging on the interoperability of these features, micro-business eventually become effective partners in normalizing digital payments among the mass market by utilizing the QRph, the country’s QR code standard.
Additional advantages include the Sari-sari Insurance which allows micro-businesses to be covered by affordable microinsurance services that will secure them and their business in case of immense economic loss due to certain consequences such as accidents, illnesses, and death. This is because DiskarTech has forged a partnership with the Insurance Commission (IC) and Malayan Insurance thus, micropreneurs can now enjoy the benefits of up to PHP25,000 worth of coverage for three months at an initial cost of only PHP35. Among other assistances that DiskarTech offers are the digital loans which could give complementary financing opportunities should micro-retailers want to expand and grow their businesses.
Honoring business owners, two years and counting
RCBC’s Diskartech communicates with every consumer using a Taglish interface, a language which is more easily understood and spoken by most Filipinos, especially by micro-retailers and their customers. Two years since its inception, the DiskarTech super app continues to be jampacked with essential financial services including payments and fund transfers to other DiskarTech account holders. There is also a wide extent of accessible cash-in touchpoints in agent partners nationwide and Diskartech users can cash-in through any 7-Eleven branches and perform fund transfers to and from more than 30 banks and mobile wallet providers through InstaPay.
Micropreneurs like Robert have found an ally with DiskarTech, and they are employing this app to bounce back economically: “DiskarTech has empowered not only micropreneurs like me, but all Filipinos in general, who seek easily accessible payment systems for their insurances, basic utilities such as telecoms, cable, mobile, internet, and even sending or receiving cash, and other bills, without having to queue in banks or popular payment centers. With my customers not only purchasing the goods I offer but also benefitting from the DiskarTech services I offer, means that I will have an increased income potential which will help me provide a better quality of life for my family,” Robert concluded.
Signing up for a DiskarTech account now is worry-free, as you just have to be above 18 years old, a Filipino citizen, and with valid IDs such as Passport, Driver’s License, UMID, Postal ID, SSS ID, PRC ID, TIN ID, and Voter ID. Once you’re geared to go, you may open your personal Diskartech account by downloading the app from App Store or Google Play. To download the app, you may go to the Play Store: https://tinyurl.com/DiskarTechAndroid or App Store: https://tinyurl.com/DiskarTechiOS.
INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/JC
