In a bid to bring quality healthcare closer to underserved Filipino communities, BPI Direct BanKo, Inc., A Savings Bank (BanKo), the microfinance arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), has partnered with Generika Drugstore, one of the country’s most trusted names in quality, affordable generic medicines.
Generika Drugstore is part of AC Health Pharma Ventures under Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation.
This meaningful partnership bridges two essential needs often out of reach for many Filipinos: financial security and accessible healthcare.
By working together, BanKo and Generika Drugstore aim to ease the everyday burden faced by low-income communities, where a single health emergency can derail a family’s finances.
Under the partnership, all new and existing BanKo clients get free membership to the GeneriKard LoyaltyProgram, providing them access to exclusive perks and rewards while enjoying the benefits of quality, affordable generic medicines and basic healthcare services.
“At BanKo, our commitment to financial inclusion goes beyond providing access to loans and savings. We recognize that true financial well-being include the ability to manage essential needs, like healthcare, without compromising a family’s budget,” said Rod Mabiasen, Jr., BanKo President.
BanKo clients can register and claim their free GeneriKard Loyalty Card by visiting any BanKo branch nationwide.New clients may also avail of this offer when they open a deposit account or apply for a loan.
With GeneriKard, members can earn and redeem reward points with every purchase across all Generika Drugstore branches nationwide.
Clients can also enjoy benefits such as a 10 percent discount on imaging and laboratory servicesand a 5 percent discount on room and board in Healthway Medical Network (HMN) clinics and hospitals.
“We believe this collaboration will help strengthen Filipino families’ financial and health resilience. This partnership enables us to extend GinhawangGenerika directly to BanKo clients—our promise of ginhawa that for each customer that comes to our stores, we will be their healthcare ally by giving them access to quality affordable generic medicines while saving as much as 85 percent—savings that in many cases could spell the difference between their ability to purchase their medicines as prescribed or not at all,” shared Gino Guinto, Generika Drugstore President and CEO.
This partnership highlights the strong synergy between BanKo and Generika Drugstore’s shared purpose: BanKo empowering families to take charge of their financial future, and Generika Drugstore, helping them take better care of their health.
Together, they are paving the way for holistic community support, helping clients to manage health conditions more effectivelyand reduce financial risks from medical emergencies. This ultimately helps protect both family income and clients’ ability to repay their loans.
Earlier, BanKo has entered into a strategic partnership with Electronic Commerce Payments Inc. (ECPay), a leading electronic payment service provider, to make financial services more accessible to Filipinos, particularly micro-entrepreneurs and underserved communities.
This collaboration strengthens BanKo’s efforts to promote financial inclusion by tapping into ECPay’s robust payment network.
With over 300,000 over-the-counter partner locations across the country—including pawnshops, convenience stores, malls, sari-sari stores, supermarkets, and remittance centers—BanKo clients can now conveniently perform loan payments at locations closer to where they live and work.
BanKo clients can access ECPayservices through 1,314 ECPay kiosks nationwide, as well as over 10,000 other non-ECPay self-service kiosks. This expands the available touchpoints for secure and seamless transactions with more than 100 digital collection partners, reaching millions of users.
BanKo currently has 387 branches and branch-lite units across 77 out of the country’s 82 provinces. Meanwhile, Generika Drugstore has over 700 branches nationwide.
BanKo’s mother bank, BPI, is the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is licensed as a universal bank by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to provide a diverse range of financial services: deposit taking and cash management, payments, lending and leasing, asset management, bancassurance, investment banking, securities brokerage, and foreign exchange and capital markets.
BPI has significant financial strength, with robust Tier 1 capital adequacy ratios and profitability, underpinned by stringent compliance and risk management regimes.
