Rural Cloud-Based Banking

Cantilan Bank is using cloud-based banking technology in the Philippines to make banking more accessible to remote and rural communities that otherwise have limited or no access to financial institutions. The project began in June of 2017 and is projected to be up and running by the end of 2019. The stakeholders and partners include the Asian Development Bank (ADB) who financed the project with a $150,000 grant, cloud service provider Oradian implemented the cloud-based banking system, as well as financial institute Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

This cloud-based technology is referred to as a "software as a service" (SaaS) system and allows the bank to increase operational efficiency and scalability, provide a lower cost to the customer while increasing convenience. "Unlike commercial and universal banks, most rural banks are not members of financial networks," therefore; Cantilan Bank's integration of a core banking platform will allow its customers to use financial services at any ATM. In addition, the bank's clients can access their finances through mobile phones and other gadgets -- a crucial integration as even rural and remote residents in the Phillippines have mobile phones. Overall the cloud-based banking solution will allow a large percent of the "unbanked" to access a formal financial system.