BPI Direct BanKo (BanKo) is the microfinance arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). BanKo was born out of BPI’s desire to address the needs of the underserved and unbanked market. Many micro-enterprises lack access to finance because of strict requirements and affordable rates. These enterprises typically face challenges to provide documents like sales records, tax returns, and audited financial statements. A common option for these enterprises is to borrow from family members or informal lenders who frequently offers high interest rates.

By offering loans to micro-entrepreneurs, BanKo can drive business and employment growth and reduce reliance on informal lending, contributing to the economic uplift for communities across the Philippines. In 2016, BanKo transitioned to focusing on providing capital for the self-employed micro-entrepreneurs. When BanKo redesigned its business model and strategy, it transitioned to a face-to-face approach. With a community-based presence and fast approval process,, it offered payment options to be convenient and flexible. Solicitation of accounts is done by loan associates with deep community knowledge, loan approvals are done in the branch and hybrid collection strategy with options for cash pick-up, automatic debit or over the counter.

With this approach, in the year 2022, BanKo disbursed loans to more than 149,000 micro businesses. By 2023, disbursements reached 213,375 loans. BanKo continues to expand its reach in serving the self-employed micro-entrepreneurs and the underserved market nationwide with more than 348 stores by end 2023.