Nextbank and Mount Carmel Rural Bank, Inc. (MCRBi) are expanding their partnership to bring mobile banking services to more customers in CALABARZON, giving households and small businesses greater access to digital financial services.
The expanded partnership will integrate Nextbank’s Mobile Banking Solution with MCRBi’s existing Core Banking System, allowing customers to conduct transactions, access accounts, and use banking services remotely.
The rollout also gives MCRBi a path to digitalize its operations without having to replace its existing core banking infrastructure, underscoring how smaller financial institutions can modernize incrementally as customers increasingly demand faster, more convenient banking.
“Rural banks are vital to financial inclusion, and our role is to equip them with modern, secure, and easy-to-adopt digital tools,” said Nextbank President and Chief Commercial Officer James To.
“Our expanded partnership with MCRBi shows how institutions can evolve step-by-step into fully digital banks,” he added.
Nextbank said its modular, plug-and-play technology allows rural banks to introduce digital services based on their needs and capacity, avoiding the cost and disruption of a wholesale technology overhaul.
For MCRBi, the mobile banking rollout builds on its earlier adoption of Nextbank’s Core Banking System and is expected to support real-time transactions, secure account access, and a more consistent customer experience across physical and digital channels.
The partnership comes as rural banks face growing pressure to close the digital access gap while continuing to serve communities that may have limited access to traditional banking services.
Founded in 1966 through the consolidation of two Batangas rural banks, MCRBi has served communities in the province for nearly six decades.
Nextbank, meanwhile, provides core banking, electronic know-your-customer, digital payments, and fraud management solutions to rural, thrift, and commercial banks, as well as cooperatives nationwide.
The companies said the expanded partnership demonstrates how digital transformation can be pursued without forcing smaller banks to start from scratch, potentially making technology adoption more accessible across the rural banking sector.
