Visa has named Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) as its “security champion” for the Philippines, recognizing the lender’s strong performance in fraud prevention and risk management as digital payment threats continue to grow more sophisticated.
The award was presented during Visa’s annual Risk Forum and is given to the best-performing local bank based on four key security metrics: issuing fraud rates, issuer authentication approval rates for online transactions, acquirer fraud rates, and the implementation of fraud mitigation programs.
This marks the second consecutive year RCBC has received the distinction.
Visa, RCBC strengthen defenses against digital fraud
Jeffrey Navarro, Visa Philippines country manager
“Strengthening payments security is a shared responsibility among all industry stakeholders,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Visa Philippines country manager.
“By working closely with banks and partners, Visa’s risk solutions help protect customers across the Philippines. This award shows how RCBC has made risk management a differentiator in its business strategy and highlights our shared commitment to making payments more seamless and secure,” he added.
RCBC President and CEO Reggie Cariaso said the rapid digitization of payments has raised the bar for security.
“As payments go digital, the threats we face also become more sophisticated,” Cariaso said. “RCBC is staying ahead of these risks with a robust risk management infrastructure and world-class security protocols through our partnership with Visa. These efforts go hand in hand with our innovation initiatives to build and sustain customer trust in the digital payments ecosystem.”
Visa said scams have shifted from traditional SMS-based schemes to phishing, online card fraud, and account takeovers.
To counter these, the company has expanded its scam disruption operations, blocking more than US$1 billion in attempted scams and dismantling over 25,000 scam-linked merchants through its Visa Scam Disruption practice.
Over the past five years, Visa has also invested US$13 billion in fraud prevention and network security.
RCBC leads Philippines in secure digital payments
Photo shows (from left:) Abdul Rahim, Head of Risk, Regional Southeast Asia, Visa, Angela Burkley, Account Executive, Visa Philippines, along with April Baloran, Department Head for Fraud and Analytics Strategy, Arnold Palacio, Department Head for Fraud Management, and Patricia Pichay, Division Head for Fraud, Chargeback, and Authorizations Division, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), and Michelle Mascariñas, Head of Product, Visa Philippines.
RCBC has been an early adopter of security technologies in the local market.
The bank was among the first issuers to roll out tokenized card credentials when Visa launched Google Wallet and Google Pay in the Philippines in partnership with Google, the FinTech Alliance of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Under a recent debit card partnership, RCBC is also set to issue Visa debit cards, expanding access to secure digital payment options for Filipino consumers.
The recognition comes as banks face growing pressure to strengthen fraud defenses while accelerating digital transformation.
With cybercriminals increasingly targeting online transactions and digital wallets, industry players are investing heavily in security infrastructure to protect both customers and payment networks.
For RCBC, the repeat recognition signals its focus on balancing innovation with risk management as more Filipinos move toward cashless and mobile-first payments.
