Feng shui experts list banking as one of the industries that will flourish this 2013, the year of the Water Snake. No, this space will not delve too much on the details of astrology predictions, but

rather on how such forecasts will possibly come to fruition. After all, even the feng shui experts themselves opine that their predictions only serve as guides, and how they will eventually turn out ultimately depend on the actual decisions and actions each individual makes.

As far as rural banks are concerned, the industry has witnessed remarkable advancements during the past year, anchored on the wise utilization of technology and other services that expanded both customer reach and customer utilization.

Microinsurance provided an affordable financial safety net to poor families during times of contingencies. Microfinance gave low-income individuals access to basic banking services, thus helping them become a self-sustaining and productive member of the community. But the common denominator for these two services is the platform that revolutionized rural banking, and addressed the problem of physical access: mobile banking.

Mobile banking emerged as a very important tool in transcending physical boundaries to bring banking services to the traditionally unbanked. Over the last few years, some 150 million mobile phone banking transactions have been recorded annually, including money transfers, service payments and subsidy payments. As geographical obstacles continue to deny about 40 percent of the country’s municipalities access to banks, the country’s almost 100-percent mobile phone penetration rate presents an easy solution to this quandary.

Telecommunication giants Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. have been very active partners in not only providing their respective mobile banking platforms, but also in training rural bankers on how to effectively use these facilities.

Smart collaborated with the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) in holding the Smart Money Accreditation Training Course for rural banks based in Luzon. The course was designed for qualified rural banks seeking to obtain accreditation as a Smart Money Center to offer money-in and money-out services, facilitate distribution of Smart Money Cards, and eventually to offer mobile phone banking services utilizing the Smart Money Platform. Smart Money is an electronic wallet that allows customers to send and receive money transfers locally and from abroad, pay bills and reload airtime by using a Smart subscriber’s mobile phone.

Recently, Smart partnered with a rural bank to bring the benefits of mobile money to more farmers and rural enterprises in Southern Luzon and Metro Manila. Applications for a Smart Money account will soon be accepted and processed in the rural bank’s branches in Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Pateros, and Taguig. Smart Money will be used to disburse commissions, loans, and salaries, as well as to collect loan payments and savings.

On the other hand, Globe G-Xchange Inc.’s (GXI) offered its GCASH Powerpay+ Card, an ATM card for banks wanting to offer improved mobile money-enabled payroll services for local companies in their areas. The new service not only provides payroll recipients with an ATM card linked to the GCASH wallet but also bundles life, accidental death, burial, ATM theft and residential fire insurance coverage. The card can be customized for the rural banks wishing to offer payroll services, thereby giving rural banks the chance to compete with larger commercial banks. In addition, the employees using the service will have two free Bancnet or Megalink ATM withdrawals a month.

Rural banks have also learned the power and influence of social networking, and how this can be utilized to provide a quick two-way communication between banks and their clients. Social networking via text marketing or updates on sites such as Facebook has totally changed the global business landscape, by the sheer size of people hooked into it alone.

Just consider this: As of December 26, 2012, the Philippines ranked 8th overall globally among countries that have the highest number of Facebook accounts, with almost 30 million registered Facebook users. In the Philippines, Facebook is now one of the best ways to market services and interact with customers online.

Rural banks were wise to recognize to adopt, along with other industries. Rural banks set up their respective official Facebook pages to connect with their clients, not only within the community but also overseas. They answer questions about their products and services, and even post instructional videos through their Facebook page.

One rural bank has also used its Facebook site to not only provide information about its services, but also to help clients interact with one another and promote business opportunities for their clients.

Within just a few months, that rural bank has attracted more than 3,000 followers to its Facebook site, and is allowing its clients and customers to share business opportunities and ventures with one another. This has encouraged its clients to sign up and open mobile money enabled bank accounts with that rural bank.

For prosperity to reign this year, non-traditional banking platforms should be maximized while still retaining good, old-fashioned business principles like hard work, integrity, quality of service, transparency, and client responsiveness. All these things, when mixed together, are usually a recipe for success—year in and year out.