China Bank Savings (CBS) is bolstering its field-based lending services for Department of Education (DepEd) teachers and non-teaching employees through a strengthened collaboration with PLDT Enterprise and Samsung Electronics Philippines. The initiative centers on the CBS APD Smart App—a proprietary digital origination platform—backed by reliable Smart connectivity and Samsung mobile devices, allowing field personnel to process loan applications directly at schools, DepEd offices, and remote locations nationwide.
This marks a significant corporate milestone, leveraging a decades-long relationship between CBS and PLDT Enterprise that began in 2007. The alliance has evolved from basic voice and branch connectivity to supporting CBS’s payroll deduction lending operations since 2018, including a transition to SD-WAN in 2022 and now enhanced mobile wireless capabilities. CBS also stands out as the first DepEd-accredited Private Lending Institution approved to deploy this specific digital field origination system, underscoring compliance and operational excellence.
For consumers—specifically educators across the country—the project translates to greater accessibility and convenience. Instead of traveling to bank branches, they receive on-site assistance with loan applications facilitated digitally, cutting processing times and extending services even to geographically isolated areas. The model also boosts CBS’s operational efficiency, scalability, and reach while maintaining strict information security and data governance standards.
Samsung Electronics Philippines provided the mobile devices powering the platform and hosted the formal contract signing at its McKinley Hill facility. Company president Roman Han noted the initiative unites technology and banking to bring services closer to educators. CBS president James Christian Dee emphasized mobility as key to serving customers wherever they are, praising PLDT Enterprise’s ongoing support. PLDT Enterprise’s Victor S. Genuino added the collaboration demonstrates how technology tailored to real-world operations drives both business agility and financial inclusion.
