The Social Security System has set aside ₱2 billion for Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.’s (RCBC) digital platform DiskarTech to disburse microloans to members, and applicants will no longer need an employer’s certification to borrow. RCBC and SSS executives announced the rollout at a product launch on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The allocation is an initial tranche from SSS’s MySSS LoanLite program, a ₱40-billion facility built to get emergency cash into members’ hands faster. For SSS members who are freelancers, gig workers, or voluntary contributors – a growing share of the workforce that doesn’t have an HR department to sign off on a loan application – the change removes a step that used to slow the process down or block it outright.
“RCBC is just a conduit, a channel, or a digital platform that will enable SSS members to avail of the loan,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer.
Under the old process, Villanueva said, “the process was a bit difficult wherein the employee had to get a certification from the employer. That was removed.”
SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph Montes De Claro said the program is built with an eye on younger members. “Previously, you needed 24 months of contributions to avail of a salary loan. For this SSS LoanLite program, we lowered the requirement to 12 months,” he said, adding that SSS expects strong uptake among Gen Z and Gen X workers in the formal sector.
Members can borrow between ₱1,000 and ₱20,000 through the platform, with repayment terms of 15, 30, 60, or 90 days. The loans carry an interest rate of 8 percent per year, or 0.67 percent a month. A fee of up to ₱200 applies per loan availment to keep the program viable for partner banks; SSS itself does not take a cut of that fee.
Villanueva said the ₱20,000 ceiling isn’t fixed. Six months after the public rollout, SSS and RCBC plan to review usage data and decide whether the cap needs to go up. “This time around, once we roll this out publicly, we will see if ₱20,000 is still okay and where our countrymen are using it. I think that’s why, at the end of the day, everything that we are doing here is evidence-based,” he said.
RCBC is the second bank to plug into the LoanLite program, following Union Bank of the Philippines. State-run Land Bank of the Philippines is next in line, with another lender expected to follow, De Claro said. The program isn’t limited to a handful of partners. De Claro said any bank in good standing with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas can apply to join.
Beyond the immediate cash relief, SSS is positioning the loans as a way for unbanked members to start building a credit history, which could open doors to other financial products down the line. No date has been given yet for when Landbank’s version of the service goes live.
