The Social Security System (SSS) and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) signed a memorandum of agreement for SSS LoanLite, a digital micro loan facility that will let qualified SSS members borrow between ₱1,000 and ₱20,000 through RCBC’s DiskarTech mobile app.
For SSS members without a bank account or easy access to a branch, the program offers a way to borrow small amounts entirely through a phone. RCBC and SSS are setting up on-ground help desks at select SSS branches to assist unbanked members with signing up, since the loan itself runs through DiskarTech’s digital platform.
The loan amount a member can borrow depends on their average of the 12 latest monthly salary credits, along with the program’s application guidelines. Repayment terms range from 15 to 90 days, with an interest rate of 8 percent per annum.
To qualify, members need at least 12 months of posted SSS contributions. The maximum loan amount is reserved for members with at least 36 total monthly contributions, including six posted within the 12 months before applying. Borrowers must also be at the maximum monthly salary credit under the regular Social Security program, not counting Provident Fund contributions.
Once approved, loan proceeds are credited to the borrower’s account with the participating financial institution. Members who hold an RCBC-issued MySSS card can have the funds credited directly to that account. The participating institution handles the application, credit evaluation, approval, and disbursement steps under the program’s guidelines.
SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph De Claro said the facility responds to demand from members for short-term borrowing options. Speaking at the MOA signing in Makati City, he said, “The current economic uncertainties have caused SSS members to require a quick, accessible, and safe loan facility that will help them tide them over between paydays and provide greater financial stability during challenging times. SSS Loan Lite answers that need.”
De Claro also credited RCBC’s technology in enabling the fully digital process: “Through the strong and secure digital infrastructure of RCBC and your DiskarTech, our members will be able to access short-term facility by a fully digital process.”
RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva said the help desks are meant to make sure members who are unfamiliar with digital banking are not excluded. “No one gets left behind because the solution is digital first. It’s not enough for the system to be fast. It should also understand what kind of life our countrymen and SSS members are using,” he said.
SSS has not announced a specific date for when the loan facility becomes available to members, nor named other financial institutions that may join the program beyond RCBC.
